Thursday, September 21, 2006

This Just In: Panda Hugging is Dangerous

Seriously. A guy tried to hug a panda in China. It didn't go well:
An intoxicated Chinese man who tried to give a panda a hug at Beijing Zoo found himself biting it in self defense after his clumsy attempt at affection was savagely rejected, local media reported Thursday.

Zhang Xinyan, a building worker on holiday from China's central Henan province, climbed into an enclosure that held Gu Gu, a seven-year-old panda, at Beijing Zoo after the man had drunk four pints of beer during lunch at a nearby restaurant, the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily said.

Zhang, who couldn't remember the incident clearly, had wanted to hug the panda and shake its hand after having watched similar scenes on television.

"When I was in there, the panda was eating bamboo. Then, it seemed some people shouted, which startled the panda. He rushed over to bite my leg," Zhang said.

Even if he was intoxicated...that's quite a feat. I mean...pandas may be cute, but they're HUGE. Now, I'm pretty aware when it comes to news bites about Pandas, but not once have I seen someone hug a panda. Even a drunk someone.

Sounds like it would make a good YouTube piece though...