Thailand farmed or hunted for their meat, which is considered a delicacy, and for their supposed medicinal properties. Although such trade is illegal, the famous Bangkok market Chatuchak is still known for the sale of endangered species. The practice of keeping wild animals as pets threatens several species. Baby animals are typically captured and sold, which often requires killing the mother. Once in captivity and out of their natural habitat, many pets die or fail to reproduce. Affected populations include the Asiatic black bear, Malayan sun bear, white-handed lar, pileated gibbon and binturong. Thailand is divided into 76 provinces (, changwat),
Nine Provinces "Rongcheng Shi" bamboo slips from the Chu state has the earliest interpretation of the Nine Provinces, but these early descriptions differ widely from the currently recognized Nine Provinces. The Nine Provinces, according to the "Rongcheng Shi", are Tu (涂), Jia (夾), Zhang (竞), Ju (莒), Ou (藕), Jing (荊), Yang (陽), Xu (敘), and Cuo (虘). The most prevalent account of the Nine Provinces comes from the "Yu Gong" or "Tribute of Yu" section of the "Book of Xia" (夏書), collected in the "Book of Documents". It was therein recorded that Yu the Great divided the world into the nine