It is reported that two tourists, a 39-year-old Han Chinese and a 51-year-old Liang Chinese, entered the enclosure where the giant panda cubs live at different times and tripled the unscheduled food for the bears. The babies were fed bamboo shoots and peanuts. After a while, the center’s employees caught the illegal immigrants red-handed and confiscated the delicacy. The keepers later claimed that the animals were not injured and are feeling fine.
However, offenders still had to be punished. The reservation management accused Han and Liang of “irresponsible behavior” and pointed to the door. The final verdict turned out to be disappointing for panda fans: the couple was banned from appearing on the territory of the center for the rest of their lives.
Meanwhile, representatives of the reserve explained that pandas, especially their cubs, have a strict diet. In this regard, visitors are asked not to offer food to the animals, since a deviation from nutritional standards can harm the health of the animal.
In addition, park staff insist that tourists take good care of the bamboo bears and spare them unnecessary stress. Therefore, the rules for visiting the center prohibit splashing the pandas with water, throwing objects at them, and hitting glass.
Violators will inevitably be punished for the concern of the inhabitants of the reserve. Thus, in July, two visitors were banned from entering the center for five years because one of them splashed water on a panda and the second hit the glass hard. In April, a woman annoyed a bamboo bear by spraying it with water and was blacklisted by the park for a year.