October 23, 2007

Panda Bears May Be Cute

But they're still bears. Unfortunately, we tend to forget this. With dire results.

A male panda at the Beijing Zoo once bitten by a drunk tourist attacked a teenager, ripping chunks out of the boy's legs, officials and a newspaper said Tuesday.

The 15-year-old had jumped over a 4-foot, 7-inch barrier surrounding an outdoor exercise area for pandas on Monday afternoon while 8-year-old Gu Gu and another bear were being fed, said a man surnamed Zhang, the director of the zoo management office.

The teen startled 240-pound Gu Gu, who bit the unwanted visitor on both legs, said Zhang, who would not give his full name.

The Beijing News identified the teen as Li Xitao, citing emergency medical officials who said he was so viciously attacked that his bones were showing. Chunks of flesh were left behind in the ambulance, they said.

Gu Gu was in the news last year when he was bitten by a drunk tourist. The man jumped into the bear's pen and tried to hug him, but was bitten instead. The tourist retaliated by biting the bear in the back.

So remember, kids. If you feel the need to hug a bear, stick with your local "Build-A-Bear Workshop".

And for those who still don't have the whole black bear/brown bear distinction straight:


Posted by Gary at October 23, 2007 08:33 AM | TrackBack
Comments

There are a couple of sentences in the quoted article that are bothering me. "A male panda at the Beijing Zoo once bitten by a drunk tourist..." and "Gu Gu was in the news last year when he was bitten by a drunk tourist." Okay, let me get this straight... the panda was bitten by the tourist? I can see that happening but is that really what they meant?

Posted by: Lynn at October 23, 2007 09:12 AM

Oh wait! Damn! How embarrassing! Somehow I completely missed the last line in bold type. Could you save me from complete humiliation and just delete both of these comments.

Posted by: Lynn at October 23, 2007 09:15 AM

"Could you save me from complete humiliation and just delete both of these comments."

Sorry... complete humiliation is mandated by the Blogger Code of Ethics©

Posted by: STEVE at October 23, 2007 09:45 AM

Pandas are NOT BEARS. They are a cousin of the raccoon. Both are very distant cousins of bears. Ask Robbo to tell you about our pet raccoon, Nunzio. On a futher note, koalas are NOT BEARS neither. They are marsupials. Just keeping you guys real. Dog.

Posted by: Sister at October 23, 2007 08:09 PM