The giant panda is viewed by many around the world as the symbol of China. They are gentle giants who are a protected species due to their limited numbers.
To see a panda up close is a beautiful site and one that as animal lovers, we should all appreciate.
Unfortunately, this didn’t stop two tourists from treating a giant panda in a zoo in China with anything but gratitude and respect.
Their despicable actions were caught on video which quickly went viral, sparking outrage around the world.
The panda was resting in its enclosure at Beijing Zoo when he was rudely awakened by a rock hitting the floor very close to him.
Shocking footage captured the two tourists throwing the rocks over the barrier and laughing.
Another visitor caught their actions on camera and the clip was posted to China’s version of Twitter, Weibo, where it drew more than 100 million hits, Bored Panda reports.
The panda, called Meng Da, was resting under a tree but the two were clearly trying to get a rise out of the panda by throwing stones at it.
“We have constant inspectors and breeders to examine the pandas twice every day in the zoo and we sent patrols and breeders to check the situation of ‘Meng Da’ immediately to make sure that everything was good with the panda,” the zoo said, according to Newsweek.
Meng Da was reportedly unharmed by the incident.
The tourists responsible for the rock-throwing, who were with a tour group from X’ian, are now banned from Beijing Zoo. The tour company is also now on a probation period with the zoo, according to China’s Global Times, as reported by Newsweek.
Watch these awful zoo visitors in action in the video below.
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo4aU9fHZ78″ /]
Some people think we are on this planet for the taking and we can just do whatever we want to the beauty and creatures around us.
Seeing an animal like a panda is a privilege and respecting their right to live a safe and healthy life while in captivity should be a given.
Please share this story if you were also shocked by the behavior of these people.
