Visitors caught on video throwing rocks at Beijing zoo panda to 'wake it up'

Thankfully, the panda was unhurt.

Ashley Tan | July 17, 2019, 01:02 PM

A video taken at the Beijing Zoo in China and posted on Weibo has sparked outrage.

Rocks thrown at panda

The 38-second clip shows rocks being hurled at Meng Da, a giant panda resident of the zoo.

The panda can be seen sitting on the ground, minding its own business. The species is known for its lazy routine.

A small rock, thrown by someone off-screen, was pelted at the panda and bounced off the floor, visibly startling the animal.

Meng Da then got up to investigate the object.

Other visitors can be heard asking "Who threw it?" in the background.

Here's the full video:

[video width="852" height="480" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2019/07/0023HfDwlx07vpspYdle01041200btQY0E010.mp4"][/video]

The video, which was uploaded to Weibo on July 14, has since gone viral with over 1.6 million views.

The video uploader also claimed she saw two people throwing stones into the panda pavilion, reported Daily Mail.

According to Beijing News, a bigger stone struck the panda 30 minutes after the video was taken.

The person who uploaded the video also reportedly stated that the culprits had wanted to "wake the panda up" by throwing rocks.

Enclosure security to be improved

Beijing Zoo has responded on Weibo saying that, thankfully, the panda was unhurt and unaffected by the stone-throwing.

The zoo also promised that security and inspections would be improved at the panda pavilion, South China Morning Post reported.

Under Beijing municipal law, those caught threatening or injuring zoo and park animals can be fined up to 100 yuan (S$20) and may face criminal charges

Top photo from 我是个小熊猫 / Weibo