Adorable Footage Shows Panda Cub Following His Keeper Around To Prevent Her From Leaving Him

Nov 08, 2020 by apost team

Panda's are adorable and docile bears. They like to roll around and play amongst themselves. There are times when they get a little lonely and will do what they can to keep the company around them. 

This is the case with one particular panda, Chun Sheng, who was caught on camera following his keeper around in a desperate attempt to make sure she doesn't leave him. 

Chun Sheng is a seven-month-old male panda born at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in China. He is the third child of Zhi Zhi, an 11-year-old mother panda, who gave birth to her two male twins back in 2017. Born on March 21st, Chung Sheng has been dubbed a "lockdown cub" by the facility's workers. 

Translated to English, his name means "born in spring." At the time of his birth, Chun Sheng weighed 0.39 pounds (176.7 grams). According to the Daily Mail, his keepers described Chun as a "very handsome boy" when they first met him. He is also the third cub to be born in the same year after another mother panda, named Fuwa ("lucky doll"), gave birth to her two male twins earlier this year.

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Fuwa's cubs were named after two popular snacks from the cities of Wuhan and Chengdu, the first cities in China to be hit the hardest by the Coronavirus earlier this year.

In a show of solidarity to the two cities' residents, the facility named the pandas Reganmian, after a noodle dish from Wuhan and Danhonggao, after Chengdu's famous egg pancakes. 

The keepers at the center develop a special bond with each bear, and both the bears and the workers enjoy each other's company. The keepers feed and play with the pandas, as well as clean up. 

Some bears, like Chun, are by themselves and seek companionship. Whenever a keeper walks into their enclosure, they want to spend as much time with them as possible. In the video below, which was taken on October 22nd, Chun is seen doing everything he could to keep his caretaker from leaving him.

The footage shows the keeper as she completes her tasks in Chun's enclosure and is ready to leave. Chun realizes this and attempts to "imprison" her by any means necessary. He starts by blocking the exit, knowing she cannot just push her way through the door. She defeats him by picking him up and gently placing him on the ground.

Realizing his first strategy failed, he turns around and tries to grab onto her legs. She thwarts his efforts by patting him on his bottom and walks away from the door. The worker steps away from the door, much to the delight of little Chun (we assume.)

Chun walks over to her, thinking she is here to stay, only for her to walk back towards the door. He rushes over to keep her from getting too close to it when she stops just to the right of the exit. She knew that the best way for her to escape is to trick him into thinking she would pick up little Chun for a cuddle. As he got closer to her, she bent down and grabbed both sides of him.

The move stopped him in his tracks, and the keeper pats him on his behind, urging him to walk forward. He presumably thinks she needed more room to pick him up, as he proceeds to step closer to the wall. Seeing that he was at a distance from her, it was now time for her to escape. She turns around and exits through the door, leaving poor little Chun behind.

Realizing he's been duped, Chun turns around and runs back to the door. He climbs up the steps but loses his balance and falls to the ground. "Maybe I'll get her next time," he may have pondered.

The Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base (CGPBRB) is a nonprofit organization that breeds and cares for Giant Pandas in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. According to their website, the CGPBRB was founded in the 1980s, after rescue workers took in six sick and malnourished giant pandas to nurse them back to health. 

The research base develops conservation education projects that aim to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues locally and internationally. The pandas enjoy state-the-art facilities at the base, complete with a sports center, furnished delivery rooms, and air-conditioned rooms for the hot summers. The lucky bears also get a luxurious food menu complete with 20 types of bamboo, a matchmaking service to find love, and even get lavish treats on their birthdays. 

Sounds great, sure, we just hope Chun gets all the cuddles he wants too!

Have you visited or worked in a panda facility? Are all pandas this playful and adorable? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you pass this sweet story along to your friends and family!