Mall zoo prices Thailand's last caged gorilla at B30m

Bua Noi peers out of her cage in Pata Zoo, at the Pata Department Store in Bang Phlat district, Bangkok, two weeks ago. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said it would like to buy and give the country's last gorilla a better life, but the store management wants 30 million baht. (Photo: Werapan Chaikere)

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment plans fund-raising events to buy the country's last gorilla, held caged at a shopping mall in Bangkok that has put the price at 30 million baht.

Thanespol Thanaboonyawat, secretary to the minister of natural resources and environment, said on Friday that the gorilla, a female known as "Bua Noi", would then be allowed to live out its life in a much nicer environment.