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| Gu Gu: Magnet for Stupid Male Tourists |
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Page 2 of 2 Pandas may look sweet and cute and cuddly. When I'm at the zoo, I hear this a lot: "I wish I could just get in there and hug them." I remind them that although pandas look gentle and peaceful most of the time -- they're bears. They're wild animals, with strong jaws and teeth, and sharp claws. Even their keepers, who know them very well, don't get in their enclosures with them -- there's always a physical barrier. Recently, there was an unfortunate incident that nonetheless explains very well -- in case you need a refresher -- why getting in an enclosure with a panda is on the list of VERY BAD IDEAS. At the Beijing Zoo, a teenager let his curiosity get the best of him on October 22. The 15-year-old (or maybe a 12-year-old: stories conflict on his age) had jumped over a 4-foot, 7-inch barrier surrounding an outdoor exercise area for pandas, ending up in an enclosure with Gu Gu, a six-year old male panda. But Gu Gu isn't just any panda -- he seems to be a magnet for stupid male tourists at the Beijing Zoo. Just over a year ago, in September 2006, Zhang Xinyan drank four jugs of beer before he went to the Beijing Zoo. "He felt a sudden urge to touch the panda with his hand," and jumped into the enclosure with Gu Gu. See USA Today article. ANOTHER BAD IDEA. Gu Gu, startled from his sleep, bit the 35-year-old man on the leg. You would think that would be a wake-up call, or at least produce instant sobriety, but no: what do you think Zhang did? HE BITES THE PANDA. YET ANOTHER BAD IDEA. "I bit the fellow in the back," Zhang was quoted as saying afterwards. "Its skin was quite thick." Luckily, some other tourists nearby yelled for the keepers, who got Gu Gu under control by spraying water. (WTF? I don't think Gu Gu was the one with the problem.) Otherwise, who knows what snacking would have continued. Zhang was shown in news reports from his hospital bed, wearing blood-soaked bandages and sporting lots of stitches. Thanks to the beauty of the Internet, they're still available at China Daily. (Don't click through if you're eating or sensitive to blood.) Zhang, still a little oblivious after his experience, said, "No one ever said they would bite people. I just wanted to touch it." Well, Mr. Zhang, now you know: pandas are bears. They can bite hard. This will cause you injuries. So don't get drunk and try to pet a panda. That's a VERY BAD IDEA. Fast forward one year later to a good example of teenage fecklessness, if obliviousness isn't a better word to describe it. Li Xitao jumped into the enclosure where Gu Gu and another panda were being fed. Although pandas prefer bamboo as 98% of their diet, maybe Gu Gu has developed a taste for human legs. Or maybe he was just startled again. We can't ask him, but maybe he had something to prove. When the teenager jumped into the enclosure, he yelled, "I'm not afraid of a panda, I know karate," and poked him with a stick of bamboo (Shanghai Daily). Consider Gu Gu NOT IMPRESSED. Enraged, more like it. The end result was that Gu Gu gnawed on the teenager's legs until bone was showing and chunks of flesh were left behind in the ambulance. Luckily, that photo isn't available on the internet, or I might be tempted to link to it. Or not. But there is a picture of Li Xitao on a stretcher. (China.org.cn) I haven't seen an update on Li Xitao's injuries, but I wish him all the best. I really do. Police described him as "an itinerant worker with a mental illness," who lives on collecting recyclables. This can't be a piece of cake in China, or anywhere for that matter, so I can't blame him too much for wanting a bit of happiness. (The karate thing was a bit too much, though.) But I do take issue with Gu Gu being described as a "bad-tempered panda," according to the Aussies (See News.com.au article.) It's not his fault that his enclosure is so easy to access. Zoo officials say that raising the barrier would block the view, but plan to take other "unspecified measures." It does seem like maybe it's time for a redesign. And Gu Gu can't help it that he looks so cute and cuddly that everyone (or at least young Chinese males) is compelled to touch him. That's just the burden pandas have to bear.
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