Adorable Giant Panda Bei Bei Enjoys A Snow Day
The severe winter storm that pummeled parts of Washington, D.C. with as much as six inches of snow on February 20, 2019 had most residents scrambling for the safety and warmth of their homes. However, Smithsonian's National Zoo's giant panda Bei Bei was not among them. The adorable three-year-old had the time of his life playing in the mounds of fresh powder that helped Washington, D.C. retain its stature as the snowiest major city on the US East Coast this year.
In the video released by the zoo's officials, the endearing giant panda is seen rolling in the snow, climbing on trees, and leaping off branches. His mother, 20-year-old Mei Xang, kept a watchful eye on her juvenile son while snacking on some delicious bamboo. Though father Tian Tian was nowhere to be found, it was he who first exposed a reluctant Bei Bei to snow in January 2016, when the giant panda was just six months old.
Born on August 22, 2015, Bei Bei, which means "precious treasure" in Mandarin, is the result of a cooperative breeding partnership between the Smithsonian's National Zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Under the agreement, all giant pandas born to Mei Xang and Tian Tian, who are on loan from the Chinese government, have to be sent to the Wolong Nature Reserve in China's Sichuan Province at age four to prepare them for breeding.
Though separating Bei Bei from his parents at such a young age may appear cruel, zoo officials say he is unlikely to miss them. That’s because, in the wild, giant pandas typically spend between 18 months and two years with their mothers before leaving to lead a solitary life. Zoo-born Bei Bei has followed a similar path and has been living in his own enclosure since early 2017. Hopefully, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang will have another cub before the adorable giant panda turns four.
Endemic to China, giant pandas are easily recognizable by the distinctive black patches around their eyes, over their ears, and across their necks and limbs. Unfortunately, thanks to climate change and loss of habitat, they are the rarest members of the bear family and one of the most endangered animals in the world. The latest consensus, conducted in 2014, discovered just 1,864 giant panda specimens in the wild. Though low, it is a significant improvement since the 1970s, when the animal's numbers had dwindled to less than 1,000. Hopefully, with some help from Bei Bei, and his older siblings Bao Bao and Tai Shan, who are already at the Wolong Nature Reserve, the population of the playful, cuddly bears will continue to increase.
Resources: CNN.com Dailymail.co.uk, nationalzoo.si.edu,smithsonianmag.com.
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1526 Comments
kittiesmamaThursday, February 18, 2021 at 10:25 amPANDAS!! SO CUTE!
searchlightSaturday, February 13, 2021 at 8:05 amAww Bei bei is adorable! ❤️
hibobnowitallFriday, February 5, 2021 at 11:11 amLol so cute!
kittylover111Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at 8:13 amtotally cute!
jakevaka-159578310549Wednesday, August 26, 2020 at 8:52 amI love panda okay every body please follow me please .
derpy_doggie4Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 11:25 amAwwwww cute
octopus1234Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 10:25 amI'm Chinese, and I love pandas! (Fun fact, Bei Bei is 北北 (North North) in Chinese.) Also, I wish the panda could stay!
someperson1Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 2:08 pmThat's so cool, I'm learning Chinese in school, and I learned panda yesterday, 熊猫 (Xiong Mao), and even more, if you separate the characters it means bear cat.
lovetoread26Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 6:37 amPandas are my fav!! I have met the wonderful pandas mentioned in this article twice before, and I was sad when Bei Bei moved to China. He had his own private jet! I actually started learning Mandarin, and working at the Wolong Nature Reserve is my dream job. So glad they made an article about this!
animereina2021Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 5:39 am#save the pandas- animereina2021Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 5:38 amI watched a video about pandas in 3D, and it talked about saving the population😊 The pandas kept on tumbling and it was adorable! Even the humans started playing with them! I am glad that the population of pandas has improved since 1970💕