Panda in China zoo bites student who wanted a hug

Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:55 AM EST
advertisement

A college student in southern China was bitten by a panda after he broke into the bear's enclosure hoping to get a hug, state media and a park employee said Saturday.

The student was visiting Qixing Park with classmates on Friday when he jumped the 6.5-foot (2-meter) -high fence around the panda's habitat, said the park employee, who refused to give his name.

The park in Guilin, a popular tourist town in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, houses a small zoo and a panda exhibit. It was virtually deserted when the student scaled the fence surrounding the panda, named Yang Yang, the employee said.

He said the student was bitten in the arms and legs. Two foreign visitors who saw the attack ran to get help from workers at a nearby refreshment stand, who notified park officials, the employee said.

The student was pale as he was taken away by medics but appeared clear-headed, he said.

"Yang Yang was so cute and I just wanted to cuddle him. I didn't expect he would attack," the 20-year-old student, surnamed Liu, said in a local hospital, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Liu underwent surgery Friday evening and was out of danger, but will remain in the hospital for several days, Xinhua said.

Yang Yang, who was flown to Guilin last year from Sichuan province, was behaving normally on Saturday and did not seem to suffer any negative psychological effects, the park employee said.

He said it was not clear whether the facility would add more signs around the enclosure or put more fences up.

"We cannot make it like a prison. We already have signs up warning people not to climb in," he said. "There are no fences along roads but people know not to cross if there are cars. This is basic knowledge."

Pandas, which generally have a public image as cute, gentle creatures, are nonetheless wild animals that can be violent when provoked or startled.

Last year, a panda at the Beijing Zoo attacked a teenager, ripping chunks out of his legs, when he jumped a barrier while the bear was being fed.

The same panda was in the news in 2006 when he bit a drunk tourist who broke into his enclosure and tried to hug him while he was asleep.The tourist retaliated by biting the bear in the back.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
  • 8 Votes
  • Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.

Back To Top

Published to:

What's this?
Who's leading the conversation?
This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.
1.4
1.3
0.5
{"commentId":4166431,"authorDomain":"ejase"}
old enough

now this is case for CPA where were the adults while this child was breaking into the bears cage?

{"commentId":4166431,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"ejase"}
    Reply#1 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:45 AM EST
    {"commentId":4172904,"authorDomain":"markesanchez-marke"}
    goldminor

    I think its a case of, where were the children when the adult broke into the cage.

    {"commentId":4172904,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"markesanchez-marke"}
    • 1 vote
    #1.1 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:36 PM EST
    Reply
    {"commentId":4166820,"authorDomain":"bernhardmeck"}
    Bernhard Meck

    Drunks and fools bothering sleeping and eating critters. Tragic! But the best time to have your camera ready! 'CHILD' you say? Teenagers can't be on leaches! We presume the 'adults' were elsewhere, throwing cigarettes to the orang-utans or holding their plump toddler over a hippo's mouth for that 'great photo-op'. "CHOMP!"

    {"commentId":4166820,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"bernhardmeck"}
    • 1 vote
    Reply#2 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:22 AM EST
    {"commentId":4167033,"authorDomain":"quiteshy2004"}
    LM-601014

    This person is a college student?  WOW wonder what the SAT score was?

    {"commentId":4167033,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"quiteshy2004"}
      Reply#3 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:43 AM EST
      {"commentId":4167707,"authorDomain":"antoniowillia20"}
      Tony Wlliams

      A Panda might look cute but it still has claws and teeth. Guess he found out the hard way.

      {"commentId":4167707,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"antoniowillia20"}
        Reply#4 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:46 PM EST
        {"commentId":4169206,"authorDomain":"kaviaq"}
        kaviaq

        Natural selection at work!

        {"commentId":4169206,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"kaviaq"}
        • 1 vote
        Reply#5 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:25 PM EST
        {"commentId":4169766,"authorDomain":"liquidopal"}
        Liquidopal

        At first, I wasn't interested in this article because I considered it another candidate for the Darwin Awards.  However, there are a few interesting points in this story.  First of all, the "student" is a 20 year old male.  Pandas are bears, not stuffed animals.  Lots of wildlife is cute, but common sense should keep you safe.  It's not a petting zoo.  There are fences and signs for a reason.  If you are too stupid to protect yourself, you deserve to be mauled by an adorable creature.

        {"commentId":4169766,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"liquidopal"}
          Reply#6 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 4:28 PM EST
          {"commentId":4170629,"authorDomain":"inquisiboy"}
          Inquisiboy

          OH MY GOD!! What an idiot!!!

          {"commentId":4170629,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"inquisiboy"}
          • 1 vote
          Reply#7 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:04 PM EST
          {"commentId":4172922,"authorDomain":"markesanchez-marke"}
          goldminor

          Was just thinking, maybe that is the way a panda says thanks for the hug I really needed one.

          {"commentId":4172922,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"markesanchez-marke"}
            Reply#8 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:38 PM EST
            {"commentId":4173083,"authorDomain":"GeminiGirl"}
            GeminiGirl

            Seems that even the Chinese can't help jumping into the enclosures of wild animals like they do here in the US.

            This did make me laugh, though:

            The same panda was in the news in 2006 when he bit a drunk tourist who broke into his enclosure and tried to hug him while he was asleep.The tourist retaliated by biting the bear in the back.

            I would've loved to see the look on the panda's face when he realized the human bit back.

            {"commentId":4173083,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"GeminiGirl"}
              Reply#9 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:02 PM EST
              {"commentId":4173373,"authorDomain":"antoniowillia20"}
              Tony Wlliams

              The panda might have thought he was getting fresh with him and looked around for flowers.

              {"commentId":4173373,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"antoniowillia20"}
                #9.1 - Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:42 PM EST
                Reply
                {"commentId":4174345,"authorDomain":"antoniowillia20"}
                Tony Wlliams

                Does anyone know if people that get Mauled by the cute and cuddly animals get to join a support group? It happens often enough you would think that somewhere out there is a group with the motto "Animal lovers and the stupid welcome. Where here to keep you from getting killed next time."

                {"commentId":4174345,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"antoniowillia20"}
                  Reply#10 - Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:25 AM EST
                  {"commentId":4176854,"authorDomain":"athenamaggard"}
                  Athena-741255

                  Do your research next time. "Though the Giant Panda is often assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than predatory behavior." So I would assume breaking into someone's home and thouching them would probably irritate anyone. He's lucky the Panda didn't kill him.

                  {"commentId":4176854,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"athenamaggard"}
                    Reply#11 - Sun Nov 23, 2008 12:50 PM EST
                    {"commentId":4185100,"authorDomain":"strifeboi"}
                    Jarrod-317505

                    Hey, that's probably how I'll go out. Hugging an adorable lion or panda bear at the zoo. I mean, it's dangerous, but if I get one good hug in, it's worth it. I mean, poor kid. But why are they so fuzzy and adorable?

                    {"commentId":4185100,"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499","authorDomain":"strifeboi"}
                      Reply#12 - Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:21 AM EST
                      {"canLink":false,"threadId":"425788","isPrivate":false}
                      Leave a Comment:
                      You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.
                      Newsvine Privacy Statement
                      As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.
                      {"threadId":"425788","contentId":"2138499"}
                      Start TrackingStart Tracking
                      Stop TrackingStop Tracking
                      Back To Top | Front Page