Beijing Zoo responds to stone-throwing

Beijing Zoo has responded to a recent video showing someone throwing stones at a giant panda, saying the panda was not injured. the zoo plans to upgrade the facilities of the venue soon.

A netizen posted the video on micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo on Sunday. It shows a giant panda was sitting outside of the Panda House, stones falling on the ground nearby, bouncing as they land. The panda then walks towards the stones as the sound of voices questioning, "Who threw those?" can be heard in the background.

Along with the video post, the user herself said that she had witnessed two people throwing stones to the giant panda at the Asian Games Panda House.

She also questioned when the renovation of the panda house will be put on schedule.

Authorities from the Beijing Zoo replied on its official micro blog on Monday afternoon that the giant panda on the video, "Meng Da", is in a healthy condition of eating, and playing activities at the venue.

"We have constant inspectors and breeders to examine the pandas twice everyday in the zoo and we sent patrols and breeders to check the situation of "Meng Da" immediately to make sure that everything was good with the panda," authorities added.

Beijing Zoo says it plans to upgrade the facilities of the Asian Games Panda House soon, and the preliminary research is underway.

The zoo also plans to strengthen patrol inspection efforts to check the indoor and outdoor venues of the giant pandas. Breeders and volunteers will also monitor visitors on the spot.

Authorities from the zoo have directly appealed to visitors to maintain civilized, respectful behaviour during their tour, and to not throw things at or feed the animals.