Another Panda Bite

ralphrepo · Jan 10, 2009

It seems that people never learn, or at least never read the news about Pandas. A while back, another incident of a misguided animal lover nearly receiving a Darwin Award was detailed in another thread (See:The Panda... is a BEAR?). Latest article from CNN about another Panda chewing some idiot tourist:

In a rush? For a quick synopsis, just read the red highlighted lines.

Giant panda in China bites third victim

Story Highlights

Zhang Jiao fell into the panda pen trying to catch a toy his son threw

Beijing Zoo panda Gu Gu has bitten two other people

"I always thought they were cute and just ate bamboo," Zhang said

By John Vause
CNN

(CNN) -- Gu Gu is not your typical soft and cuddly giant panda. For the third time, he's tasted the flesh of an unwitting intruder in his pen at the Beijing Zoo. His most recent victim was 28-year-old Zhang Jiao, who told CNN he fell into the panda pen Wednesday while trying to catch a small toy thrown by his young son. "My son and I were playing with a panda doll, throwing it to each other, when I dropped with the toy" into the pen, Zhang said. The barrier around the pen is about 5 feet tall, but on the other side is a drop of 9 to 10 feet, and Zhang says he could not climb out. That's when Gu Gu went on the attack. The 240-pound giant panda sunk his teeth into Zhang's left leg before moving on to the right leg.

"The panda is a national treasure, and I love and respect [him], so I didn't fight back," Zhang said. "The panda didn't let go until it chewed up my leg and its mouth was dripping with my blood." Zookeepers needed to use tools to pry open Gu Gu's jaws. Zhang said he never imagined a panda could be so vicious. "I always thought they were cute and just ate bamboo," Zhang said. According to Dr. Wang Tianbing, who treated Zhang, his wounds were severe, especially the damage done to the muscle and ligaments in his left leg. "Normally, we think the panda is very tender animal, but actually it's a bear, not a cat. If the animal thinks it will be hurt by human beings, it is very dangerous."

Wang should know. In 2007, he treated another one of Gu Gu's victims, a 15-year-old boy who climbed into the pen to get a closer look. A year earlier, state media reported that a drunken tourist tried to hug the panda, who bit him. In an odd twist, the tourist reportedly bit back. But being an endangered species and much-loved national icon means there's no "three strikes and you're out" for Gu Gu. In fact, there's a possibility Zhang may face charges for entering the panda pen.
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It was simply bad luck when Ding Ding, the son of an Anhui visitor called Zhang Xiao, dropped a panda toy into the panda enclosure at Beijing Zoo. But when the father leapt over the fence to pick up the toy, a giant panda attacked him from behind, causing severe injuries to his legs. Zhang and Ding Ding, his five-year-old son, were on a visit to his relatives in Beijing. On January 7, they visited the zoo with Dong Junxi, Zhang's brother-in-law, and Ding Ding was desperate to see the pandas. To please his son, Zhang bought him a panda toy, but the boy dropped the toy into the panda's enclosure by accident. Seeing no pandas around, Zhang jumped over the fence to retrieve the toy. "We were shocked to see a panda rushing at him from a distance of no more than 10 meters," Dong said. According to Dong, Zhang made to escape, but some bystanders, thinking the panda was harmless, urged him to stand his ground. Zhang stayed where he was and the panda made its attack, knocking Zhang down and biting his left leg. Dong jumped into the enclosure to rescue his brother-in-law, trying to drag the panda off, but his efforts were in vain as the panda went on to maul Zhang's right leg.

A 40-year-old zookeeper rushed to the scene and called for help from his fellow keepers. In minutes, the rescuers used hand tools to separate the panda from its victim. The attacker, named Gugu, a nine-year old male, was sent to Beijing from the Wolong panda reserve in Sichuan Province in October 2004. Although the attack was severe, Zhang, who has undergone surgery and been given an anti-rabies vaccine, has no life-threatening injuries. According to the zoo's operators, the victim's behavior was rash and in contravention of clear warnings outside the enclosure. A keeper who was only 10 meters from Zhang had tried to dissuade him, but he simply didn't listen. The zoo's press office pointed out that the zoo has paid the victim's medical costs in advance and has submitted the case for investigation.
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Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/09/panda.attack/index.html
http://www.china.org.cn/environment/news/2009-01/09/content_17079732.htm
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I think they really need to provide better education for the general public. Perhaps posting a few grisly pictures (that the PRC are famous for) in the front of the cage to discourage people from going into the pen may help? An unrelated incident, but take a look at this, what raw power that animal has:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubZimS4E3F0

The problem here also illustrates that Chinese zookeepers don't appreciate the fact that people need to be kept at a safe distance. Suppose that was a small child sitting at that fence line? And here's a picture of their teeth, nothing to play with:

Source: Giant Pandas Biology: Veterinary Medicine & Management [2006] D.E.Wildt, A.Zhang

lala_bel_tempo · Jan 10, 2009

people just never learn LOL

BigM · Jan 10, 2009

As well as education, make the "guardrail" higher

mr_evolution · Jan 10, 2009

Panda Hungee! RAWR! ("\(.:..:.)/")

AC0110 · Jan 10, 2009

Those teeth... they scare me more not because it is gonna bite someone, but how dirty it is... -_-

Natsu · Jan 10, 2009

another bites the dust!! those teeth looks revolting >.< i wouldnt want to be bitten by that ~

gawain187 · Jan 10, 2009

Lol, people are just so arrogant/stubborn to learn.

Looks like the panda hasn't brushed their teeth in ages.

whoaitselaine · Jan 10, 2009

lol, the teeth are so ewwie. >.<

so can the guy walk again? o.o?

penmaggots · Jan 10, 2009

people gotta stop climbing in to give them hugs, they might be "cute" but they still wild animals....

wysandman · Jan 10, 2009

panda are awesome, a least he mad it out alive.
Man some Chinese folks are dumb as fuck sometimes

3liminator · Jan 10, 2009

he's addicted to human flesh now

Knoctur_nal · Jan 11, 2009

some gota learn the hard way.

Takashi · Jan 11, 2009

owned by a cuddly bear. niiiiiice

Dashu · Jan 11, 2009

stupid people, still love pandassss ^_________________^!

AsianInvasion · Jan 11, 2009

omg that panda stole that guys jacket O_O ... and those guardrails should really be fixed ... if the panda could just reach out and grab

brown_bear · Jan 11, 2009

Knoctur_nal said: ↑

some gota learn the hard way.
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of losing legs..??...mannn thas a harsh lesson...

ralphrepo · Jan 11, 2009

AsianInvasion said: ↑

omg that panda stole that guys jacket O_O ... and those guardrails should really be fixed ... if the panda could just reach out and grab
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What impressed me was that the panda, with one paw, was able to literally pull that guy back towards him despite the many people pulling against it. THAT is what people underestimate when they think these animals to be cute and cuddly stuffed toys. -shock

Another Panda Bite

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