hundreds of deer in this area are willing to be near the tourists. This zone can be considered as the unique and impressive animal exhibition when visiting this zoo.

 

          "Welcome to Khon Kaen Zoo. Here you can meet various kinds for animals, especially lots of tropical animals waiting to meet all of you. If you are ready, let’s go with us."

 

          The voice of the tram car driver who also holding a position of tour guide of Khon Kaen Zoo is announced through the megaphone, while the tourists on the tram car are brought around to visit various places in Khon Kaen Zoo today. Despite the hot weather, the chance to visit and be near various types of wild animals is the happiness that children in Northeastern Thailand will get. After the tourists, both children and adults, have enjoyed the Exhibition Zone inside Khon Kaen Zoo, where there are golf cart service available for families that need privacy and tram car for group of tourists. The drivers do not only drive the tram car, but also be the tour guides who diligently give explanation when the tram car passes and stops at some points where the imported animals or rare domestic animals are exhibited. ;;; The first zone is the Exhibition Zone for animals from Africa called "Hello Madagascar" where black-and-white ruffed lemur, ring- tailed lemur and squirrel monkey are highlights. However, before entering into that zone you’ll be welcomed by sun bears lying lazily in the cage under the tree and a hundred of painted stocks and flamingos standing beautifully in the pond nearby until you reach the Bird Exhibition Zone. There is also a big family of albino wallabies, the member of which is increasing and now become a family of 15. Outside that zone, there are white rhinoceros, white lions and tigers where there will be tiger feeding shows. The tourists will see the movement of the tiger climbing and snatching fresh meat tied with the sling and sent in, while the other tigers waiting for next pieces of meat. You’ll meet many other animals until the tram car run up high hill and slow down slightly when reaching the top of the hill. After that the tram car will run down the slope along the shape of the hill. When looking down, you’ll see a herd of more than hundreds deer sleeping in straw and under the tree, nibbling grass and wandering around Deer Exhibition Zone called "Tung Saen Kwang". When the tram car or golf cart of the tourists have entered and parked, the herd of deer comprising chital, hog deer and Sika deer which are not to large deer will approach the tourists happily. For a closer contact, the Zoo has arranged fruits and vegetables, such as banana and morning glory, in small baskets for the tourists so that they can feed the deer with their hands. There will be a donation box for animal food that you can donate as much as you would like to. When holding the basket and walk just a little bit the tourists will be surrounded by the deer that opening their mouths to get ready to eat. Many tourists are afraid to feed the deer but in the end everyone’s hands are licked by them anyway. While enjoying the small deer, there is also another herd of deer standing not far from the first herd. Some of them climb up the stone arch entrance and pop their heads out with pleading eyes but they cannot follow the first group because they are kept away by 1-meter wide metal hump built to prevent the two herds of deer from mixing, because their breeds are different. The latter herd consists of Sambar deer and Rusa deer which are gentle and calm, so the tourist can approach and feed them as well.

 

          Apart from the herd of not less than two hundreds deer that the tourists can play with, feed and take impressive photos for posting online to make their friends jealous, when the tram car passed the arch entrance with metal hump that is divided the chital and Sika deer from Sambar deer and Rusa deer for a little bit, inside the area not less than 40 Rai with landscape adjusted specifically to be the habitat for deer, there are also Myanmar's Eld's deer standing and looking at the tourists carefully. Their large ears match with their slender face and innocent eyes. In addition, there is a herd of barking deer in which "Khun Teerak" the albino barking deer, born from "Khun Pood" grandchild of "Khun Petch" the albino barking deer conferred from Dusit Zoo has just become the new member as the breeder.

 

          The "Tung Saen Kwang" exhibition zone is very impressive. The tourists are happy and impressed that they can contact with wild animal closely, so this is a great highlight and uniqueness of Khon Kaen Zoo.

 

          Khon Kaen Zoo locates on Suan Kwang Mountain with 3,338 Rai area. It was unofficially opened on 9 January 2010 under the name Upper Esaan Wild Animal Adventure Park, Khonkaen- Udonthani. The Zoological Park Organization, committee has resolved to change the name to "Khon Kaen Zoo" and officially open the zoo on 28 June 2013. This is the 7th zoo under The Zoological Park Organization under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King. The zoo is divided into 2 portions. The upper part of the mountain is for educational purpose. It is the place for learning and studying rare wild animal conservation and also the research center cultivating informal tourism and the idea of community forest according to sustainable development that human and forest can be together harmoniously and participatively. It is way to stimulate tourism economy and local employment. Apart from that, it enlarges the opportunity to share knowledge about natural resources and wild animals to students and general public in upper Northeastern of Thailand where Khonkaen and Udonthani locate. In addition, there are additional activities such as hiking for nature study; project of zoo study for student; camping activities for Boy Scout and Red Cross Youth; and Seminar Center for Nature and Environment Conservation Support. There are also lots of animals that the tourists can drive to see and learn about, such as giraffes, zebras, ostriches, emus and large kudus. There is a skywalk where you can stand and see them clearly. It is the Exhibition Zone that gather hundreds of animals from both local area and oversea of more than 50 kinds. However, the Exhibition Zone with the highest number of animal is "Tung Saen Kwang" where not less than 300 of deer, barking deer and Eld's deer live together. There are about 30-40 male breeders kept separately at the upper part of the zone for study. In order to make "Tung Saen Kwang" Exhibition zone easy to take care of, it is a closed area located in the same zone as Exhibition zone for convenient of the tourists. The increase of populations also needs to be controlled in order to prevent congestion. "This is the intention to support and conserve the characteristic of the landscape, the original living condition of this kind of animals to Khao Suan Kwang or Khao Saen Kwang, as called by the local people. Apart from that, there is an Exhibition zone of seals and Activity Zone which is a large water park on 15 Rai area with building and pools for both adults and children, slides and 450-meter long whirlpool swimming pool which is officially open. It can serves up to 3,000 tourists a day."