Gu Gu the panda is no stranger to attack. For the third time, the Beijing Zoo occupant sunk his teeth into human flesh and now, officials are possibly looking for new and more effective ways to keep humans out of the animal cages.
The scenario is increasingly common, with what seems like unwitting onlookers at the world's zoos becoming victims of mauling and often deadly attacks. But did you ever wonder how these animals gain access to their potential victim?
In the most recent attack, a 28-year-old Chinese man was playing catch with his young son...by a panda pen. The toy dropped, the man tried to retrieve it and fell over a 5 ft barrier into the pen, thereby offering himself up to Gu Gu, the "flesh eating panda."
According to CNN:
"the other side is a drop of 9 to 10 feet, and Zhang says he could not climb" out and "The 240-pound giant panda sunk his teeth into Zhang's left leg before moving on to the right leg."
Zhang Jiao admitted that he did not put up a fight, saying in the article that "The panda is a national treasure, and I love and respect [him], so I didn't fight back." The man simply laid there in horror, and obvious pain as Gu Gu chewed his legs to bits. With the use of extra tools, zookeepers were able to pry the panda's jaws off of the father's leg.
He was rushed to hospital, where he is being treated for massive damage to muscle and ligaments in his left leg.
"I always thought they were cute and just ate bamboo," Zhang said.
Two years ago, a teen boy climbed into Gu Gu's pen for a closer look and was met by a similar fate, as did a drunk tourist who was reported to have attempted to give the cuddly looking panda a big old bear hug about three years ago after climbing in the pen. The drunk guy retaliated against Gu Gu's attack by biting back. Neither victim died.
One of the most famous zoo attacks is with Binky the polar bear, at the Alaska Zoo when in the early 90s, an Australian woman wanted a close up picture of Binky so she scaled not one, but two sets of "keep out" bars. The bear stuck his hand out and sunk his teeth into her yummy thigh while an onlooker captured the whole event on tape.
Binky is no stranger to human flesh either when just a few weeks later, drunk teens decided to take a dip in his private bath and Binky decided they weren't going to get any closer. A 19-year-old was mauled and hospitalized with leg lacerations. Binky died the following year from infection.
Of course, there is the fatal mauling of the 17-year-old and the injuries to two others teens at the
San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day in 2007. Toxicology reports showed that the trio had been drinking and smoking pot the day of the incident, which was confirmed by a partially empty vodka bottle and marijuana found in their car on the day of the mauling. There were several witness accounts that the group had been taunting the 250-pound tiger.
Although the battle for liability and investigation is still ongoing, the zoo placed a glass fencing and hotwire around the top of the wall. The tiger was shot and killed.
People need to realize that these animals are not the sweet and cuddly, like the images one sees on a postcard or in a picture frame. They rely on instinct and survival tactics to stay alive.
To a cuddly panda, a human is a potential meal and not some softie that eats bamboo, as what was reported to be the initial belief of Zhang.
So when we speak of adding more security to the already hundreds of "keep out" signs and bars that should spark some synapse usage, how about adding that zookeepers world wide are still working on a way to train humans on how to stay out of the animals cages.
As Gu Gu is an endangered species, he will not be punished for his actions however, Zhang could face charges for entering the pen.
