Panda Wrestles Man Who Broke Into His Zoo Enclosure

He won't be doing that again in a hurry

Footage of a man breaking into a panda’s enclosure in a Chinese zoo has gone viral – for all the right reasons.

The video, taken last Thursday, showed the man sneaking up to Meiling, a 120kg male panda, and touching the sleeping bear on the head.

The 12-year-old panda woke up and grabbed the man’s leg, pushing him to the ground.

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Let sleeping bears lie
Reuters

After wrestling with the bear for more than five minutes, the man – believed to have entered the enclosure in order to impress female friends - broke free and fled.

Authorities at the zoo in the southeastern province of Jiangxi said the panda was probably just playing with the man, who disappeared with only a tear in his trousers, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The giant panda is prized in China and seen as a conservation success story, whose cause has been championed right up to the highest levels in Beijing.