The sheer joy of a panda experiencing snowfall this year has captivated online viewers. Meng Meng, a nine-year-old panda, couldn’t contain her delight at the first snow of the year in a zoo in northeast China.
A captivating video that surfaced online showcases Meng Meng frolicking in the snow, prancing around the playground, and finally ascending a tree in jubilation.
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This touching moment was filmed on November 2 at the Siberian Tiger Park in Changchun, Jilin Province. As the People’s Daily Online reported, this park is the home of Meng Meng and her companion, Jia Jia.
Meng Meng and Jia Jia, aged nine and ten, were relocated to the park from China’s Sichuan Province in June 2015 for an entirely new experience – to live amidst the snow.
The duo was slated to spend three years in Changchun, a city near Russia and North Korea.
Meng Meng bursts joyfully in the video as she witnesses the falling snowflakes. At the same time, Jia Jia appears more composed, seen munching on his bamboo shoots.
Although they had encountered snow before, it did not deter them from basking in the excitement of this year’s first snowfall.
Zhang Meng, the bears’ caretaker, revealed to cnjilinwang, a local news outlet, that pandas can enjoy outdoor activities in temperatures as cold as minus 10 degrees Celsius.
However, Zhang stipulated that the pandas’ snow playtime is limited to approximately 60-90 minutes.
To compensate for the cold, the pandas are given extra meals during the winter to help them maintain their energy levels.
“The pandas have four meals daily, consuming around 12.5kg of bamboo, carrots, apples, and bamboo shoots. They even enjoy around four tonnes of snacks,” shared Zhang.
All of their bamboo and bamboo shoots are kept at a cool four degrees Celsius and airlifted from Sichuan every five days, as per Zhang’s information.
The pandas’ spacious enclosure, which spans a whopping 5,000 square meters, is located on the southern flank of the Siberian Tiger Park, not too far from the Siberian tiger enclosure.
In a prior interview with Xinhua, Zhang expressed that despite having already spent two winters in the enclosure, Meng Meng and Jia Jia continue to be exhilarated at the sight of snow and maintain healthy appetites.
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