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Baby Panda Declares That His Mealtime Is Now Playtime

Written by: Molly Weinfurter
Molly Weinfurter is a writer for iHeartDogs, and she’s passionate about helping animals in need. She volunteers for Bailing Out Benji and a local dog rescue.Read more
| Published on January 3, 2023

Lots of baby animals remind us of puppies, and baby pandas are no exception. One panda in particular only wants to play all day, and he will do anything he can to convince humans to play with him.

This young panda lives at Wolong National Nature Reserve in China, where a zookeeper stops by to feed him regularly. Instead of eagerly gobbling up the food as most animals would, this panda ignored his favorite meal and climbed on the human instead. He preferred to have playtime instead of dinner.

Panda by zookeeper
YouTube

Panda Wants to Play!

A viral video showed the interactions between the adorable panda cub and the focused zookeeper. In the video, the zookeeper breaks up bamboo pieces and sets them on the ground for the panda to enjoy. However, the panda doesn’t seem to care about the delicious meal surrounding him.

As the zookeeper hands out the food, the baby panda climbs on his leg and tries to get his attention. Somehow, the man isn’t phased by the panda’s silly antics. He continues doing his job without getting distracted by the small fluff ball.

Every once in a while, the panda will let go of the zookeeper to chew on bamboo or sticks, but then he always returns to his essential playtime. He hugs the zookeeper, clings to his leg, and even nibbles on his clothes. But no matter what he does, he can’t get the human to play with him in return.

Panda chewing on zookeeper's clothes
YouTube

Food First, Playtime After

Toward the end of the video, the zookeeper finishes breaking up the bamboo for the baby panda. He moves some sticks out of the way, and then he turns to the panda. To the cub’s surprise, the zookeeper plays with him a little bit now that the feeding chore is done.

When the zookeeper gets up and walks away, the panda follows him longingly, not wanting the man to return to his job. If it were up to this panda, every hour of the day would be playtime!

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Of course, nearly every animal lover that saw this video fell in love with the panda. Most of the commenters mentioned how they’d never be able to do the zookeeper’s job without getting distracted. How could anyone resist that adorable panda cub?

Panda hugging zookeeper
YouTube

“How can the zookeeper resist the urge to play with him? Aghhhhh! He’s so fluffy and adorable I would have been rolling around playing and snuggling with the panda. They are so adorable!!!” YouTube user Barbie Pena commented.

Watch the Adorable Video Here:

Featured Image: YouTube

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