The object of his affection sauntering into view is one of Thailand's biggest stars, with millions of fans and her own reality television series -- giving rise to a strong national dose of "panda-mania" and "panda-monium".

Linping, the country's first giant panda cub, was a sensation even before she was born following years of unsuccessful artificial insemination and efforts to get her parents to mate at Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand.

The country's television has a live 24-hour "Panda Channel" following her every move, while a competition to name her in 2009 attracted 22 million entries.

Her name means "forest of ice" in Chinese and is based on her mother's name Linhui (beautiful forest) and the name of the Ping River in Chiang Mai.

Linping's intense popularity has propelled her into an elite international list of celebrity creatures that includes Germany's polar bear, Knut, and Paul the "psychic" octopus, who wowed football fans by predicting the World Cup result before dying in his tank last year.

The panda is perhaps less revered by her fellow animals, some of whom were unceremoniously painted black and white during a brief craze after her birth. Thai elephants and even a few crocodiles succumbed to the paint brush as the panda cult swept the nation.

But the fairytale could be coming to an end as China, which provided the zoo with Linping's parents on a 10-year loan in 2003, has a claim to the cub on her second birthday in May this year.

The zoo hopes to negotiate a longer stay for its star resident but it appears that the decision over her fate will not be made until the deadline.

"If it's a no, we will have to keep trying. First we will ask why and then we will try to improve... because Thai people love Linping so much," said Prasertsak Boontrakulpoontawee, head of Thailand's panda project.

The cub has been a boon for the zoo, raising visitor numbers by around 30 or 40 percent, he added.

A 28.5 million baht (930,000 dollar) government grant has also been requested to build an air-conditioned dome over Linping's exercise space, while longer-term plans include trying to breed another cub and setting up a panda research centre.

"Linping is the first panda cub to be born in Thailand. No matter what she does, she has our attention. It's like raising our own child because we see her every day: how she grows, develops and plays," Prasertsak said.

Giant pandas, notorious for their low sex drive in captivity, are among the planet's most endangered animals. About 1,600 pandas are believed to survive in the wild in China.

Linping's birth was a hard-won triumph for the zoo after years of failed attempts to coax her unwilling and celibate parents to mate the old-fashioned way.

In 2006, her father Chuang Chuang, who had been deemed too heavy to mate, lost weight on a low-carbohydrate diet and was then shown 15-minute video clips of successful panda couplings -- dubbed "panda porn" -- but to no avail.

A spell out in the cold failed to provoke a steamy response from the pair, and while an early attempt at artificially inseminating mother Lin Hui was unsuccessful, the second time proved lucky for the zoo.

"Linping has been a superstar since she was born. She makes people happy," said Anuwong Wongwichian, the zoo's head panda keeper.

"She is playful and sometimes stubborn. Her character is like a boy, she is not really courteous."

Until the decision over Linping's fate is made, the panda's many avid fans will continue to be transfixed by her antics on screen.

But some viewers find their dedication to their furry icon is met with mockery -- even irritation -- at home.

"My husband complains... you just watch the panda sleeping or eating bamboo. He is just being sarcastic," said Usa Limprasert.

"Panda again? You are a panda freak or something. Sometimes he gets irritated... But we have separate TVs."

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