Pandas are undeniably one of the cutest creatures in the world, am I right?
Look how cute and fluffy those babies are!
It’s no surprise that many people from all around the world visit the zoo while they’re overseas, especially in countries like China where pandas hail from, to get a glimpse of these black and white giants.
Oftentimes, though, some tourists might be expecting a little more from their experiences with pandas and end up doing inappropriate things in excitement.
Wake Up Call
A passionate panda lover took to Weibo to share a video of an incident that she witnessed at the Beijing Zoo panda enclosure.
Apparently, two tourists were throwing rocks at Meng Da, the giant panda, and one of the acts got caught on her video.
Did you know that pandas sleep for a total of about 10 hours a day? Sleepy creatures, they are.
It was possible that the panda was feeling sleepy at the time, for the tourists were believed to have been wanting to wake up the panda by throwing rocks at it.
A rock can be seen flying into the enclosure, landing just a few inches away from the panda’s torso and bouncing further after.
Meng Da looked to be quite taken aback, or fascinated, by the sudden UFO for his eyes kept following the rock as it rolled over to the other corner. He then slowly crawled over to observe the rock, wanting to know what it was.
The original poster claimed that even though this was but one of the rocks thrown, there was also another perpetrator.
Both of them had thrown rocks at the panda within just 30 minutes. She also claimed that the second rock thrower threw an even bigger one.
Criticisms about throwing the rock could be heard in the video, where the crowd and possibly the original poster was asking who threw the rock and called them crazy.
Upgraded Facilities Needed
She also urged the Beijing Zoo to step up on their facilities and protect the pandas better.
The incident occurred in the old panda pavilion, which was built in 1989 to welcome the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing.
The open spaces in between the bars leave space for unruly visitors like the ones above to throw items into the pavilion.
In 2008, a new panda pavilion was also built in celebration of the Beijing Olympics in the same year. This one looks much safer, with the glass that separates visitors completely from the pandas.
Perhaps it’s time for the zoo to look into upgrading their facilities yet again, for it’s been 10 years.
Thankfully, He’s Fine
Meng Da suffered no injuries, and luckily was not hit by any of the rocks, according to a spokesperson at the zoo. He was well, and had been eating, pooping, moving around and playing as usual, they shared. Phew.
After the incident, they also said that the zookeepers immediately kept a watch at the pavilion so as to prevent more tourists from throwing rocks or food in there.
The panda pavilion will go through renovation works in the near future as well, the zoo added, and hoped that visitors could observe the animals in a ‘civilised’ manner.
If you happen to go to the River Safari to see our beloved Jia Jia and Kai Kai, remember not to throw anything into their enclosure and just watch them peacefully.
After all, animals are living things too. No human would like having rocks thrown at them, and it’s the same for them.
It’s a shame that Meng Da isn’t a Kung Fu Panda like Po, though, for he could’ve easily roundhouse kicked the rock back at the tourists so that they could have a taste of their own medicine.
Take that!
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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