Pata Zoo (Thai:สวนสัตว์พาต้า) is aprivate zoo on the 6th and 7th floors of Pata Pinklao Department Store,Bang Yi Khan Subdistrict,Bang Phlat District,Bangkok betweenBorommaratchachonnani and Arun Amarin Intersections close toPhra Pinklao Bridge. Pata Zoo has operated since 1983, along with the department store.[1] Pata Zoo has been the subject of ongoing attention from Thai animal welfare organizations, who have raised concerns about the conditions of certain enclosures, particularly those housing primates such as the gorilla Bua Noi. [2]
Seventh floor – Birds,orangutans,macaques,gibbons,binturongs,guinea pigs,rabbits,pygmy goats,sheep,Asiatic black bears,lemurs, and an artificial waterfall and botanical garden. One notable animal featured here is a femalewestern lowland gorilla over 30 years old namedBua Noi (บัวน้อย, 'little lotus'), the onlygorilla left in Thailand.[3] Most critics of the Pata Zoo have focused on the living conditions ofBua Noi.[2] She has lived at the zoo since 1992.[4] The zoo veterinarian and zoo director insist that she is in good mental and physical health.[5][6]
A Hornbill at Pata Zoo.photographed in April 2016.
Animal rights activists and campaigners submitted a petition of 35,000 signatures in September 2014 to Thailand'sDepartment of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) calling for the zoo's closure and the immediate removal ofBua Noi from the zoo.[7] The DNP responded by declaring it could not withdraw the licence of Pata Zoo as the zoo had not done anything against the law.[8] The DNP director-general argued that the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act[9] did not forbid animals from being caged in high-rise buildings and, therefore, Pata Zoo did not violate the law by maintaining a zoo on top of a building.[8] The zoo immediately declared its innocence of any wrongdoing.[10]
In March 2015, it was reported that Thai authorities charged that Pata Zoo had broken several laws and ordered the removal of all large animals, including Bua Noi, from the zoo.[4] The zoo declined to transfer the gorilla to another facility.[11] As of February 2020[update],Bua Noi was still in captivity at the zoo.[12][13]
Following a fire at the zoo later that year, actressGillian Anderson and animal rights groupPETA sent a letter to the zoo's owner expressing concern about the animals' welfare and urging him to consider closing the facility.[14] At the end of 2020, singer and actressCher wrote a letter to Thailand’s environment minister, asking the minister to support her efforts to relocate the gorilla.[15]
In March 2023, activists sprayed messages on the department store building calling for Bua Noi to be freed. In response, the zoo announced a bounty of 100,000baht for information leading to the arrest of the offenders, citing intrusion. The zoo stated it was ready to issue a transparent statement clarifying what it described as the full truth after facing prolonged criticism.[16]
Since January 2025, the zoo has introduced a new policy allowing visitors to see Bua Noi in limited groups of no more than 30 people at a time, in order to reduce stress for the aging gorilla. Before each viewing, visitors are shown a video presentation explaining what the zoo presents as the background of Bua Noi: she was born in a German zoo and has been living here since 1992 under the care of the same keeper to this day. The zoo emphasizes that she has always been cared for with dedication and affection.[17]
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