- A 53-year-old man named Gao has been permanently banned from China’s panda center for throwing an unspecified object into the panda enclosure.
- The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has issued a ban on feeding pandas, saying it could harm them.
- Lifetime bans have previously been imposed for similar offenses of feeding pandas, including feeding peanuts to baby pandas.
Please do not feed the pandas. This rule appears to have been broken by a man who was permanently banned from one of China’s main panda centers on Monday after throwing an unspecified “object” into an enclosure.
A notice from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding said that although the object was not identified, feeding the pandas could be harmful, and that the pandas’ condition appeared to be normal. The visitor was identified as a 53-year-old man with the surname Gao.
“In view of Gao’s uncivilized visit and actions that may harm giant pandas, he is permanently prohibited from entering the panda base,” the notice said.
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The panda base previously issued a permanent ban on feeding pandas. In August last year, a man who fed bamboo shoots to baby pandas and a woman who fed them peanuts were sentenced to life in prison.
A giant panda seen at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on June 13, 2022. A man who threw an unspecified object into a giant panda cage has become the latest visitor to be permanently banned. (Xu Jun/VCG, Getty Images)
Other visitors have been banned for one to five years for violations such as throwing water at the pandas and banging on the windows of the enclosure, state media reported.
The black-and-white giant panda has become China’s national symbol and is loaned to zoos around the world. When President Xi Jinping visited the United States last year, he called them “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.”
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The breeding base in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, is a popular tourist destination. Last year, a total of 34 pandas were born at two sites in Sichuan province, including Chengdu. Some recently made a special appearance as part of this month’s Lunar New Year festivities.
“National treasures have strict dietary standards,” the base wrote in the notice. Visitors were asked to be polite and lead by example.
