Let’s face it, pandas aren’t the smartest animals. In fact, it’s pretty well-known that they’d likely be extinct by now if not for human intervention (then again, we kind of destroyed their habitat first).
It’s not every day we get a peek into the lives of panda bears, but when we do, they’re always up to something ridiculous whether it’s gorging on food, escaping from pens, or falling all over themselves while playing.
In one viral video, a baby panda and its mother interact at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a non-profit organization located in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It’s a conservation, research, breeding, and education base founded in 1987 that focuses on pandas and other rare animals.
The video of this scene is so popular it has been viewed over 46 MILLION times!
The clip in question involves a cub, named Cheng Lan, wandering free outside of his cage. Cheng Lan is pretty adorable and can be seen taking itty-bitty steps on the concrete floor at the beginning. Unfortunately, that’s not where the infant panda is supposed to be.
An employee from the Chengdu Research Base is in the same room doing her work, but doesn’t seem too concerned at first that the baby is loose.
She fiddles with a hose without paying much attention to Cheng Lan.
But there’s another figure in the room who does seem concerned that Cheng Lan isn’t where he should be – his mom, Cheng Da!
Cheng Da is behind the metal bars of her pen when she zeros in on the cub. She heads down to the end of the cage to try and reach her son, but being an adult female, there’s no way she’s getting through the bar openings.
According to National Geographic, the average giant panda will eat 12 hours a day and needs to consume 28-lbs of bamboo to meet dietary needs. They’ll also occasionally eat rodents or birds too. So maybe mom was busy snacking when her baby escaped.
The mother panda is watching her little one move at a snail’s pace and seems pretty miffed that he hasn’t been returned to her yet.
Perhaps she’s thinking, “Come on worker lady? A little hand here?”
Finally, as if the woman can sense Cheng Da’s concern, she goes and swoops up the cub.
She then takes him and pushes him through the bars into the pen (so maybe that’s how he got out in the first place).
As soon as the worker pushes him in, Cheng Da takes over and grabs him by his fur. It’s as if you can almost hear her say… Kid, you are in so much trouble!
The mom panda then drags her “naughty” son to the back of the cage and sits with her back towards the camera. At this point, you can no longer see little Cheng Lan.
He’s busy getting in trouble.
It’s unclear what happens after that – but people have left some pretty hilarious comments in response to the viral scene, which seem pretty relatable to parenting any species.
“she’s like “how many times i have to tell u not to play outside when they’re cleaning”
Another commenter wrote:
“baby : mom, look I am exploring the world
Mom : now explore the corner”
Pretty much any parent can relate to the exasperation.
Be sure to scroll down below to see the adorable scene for yourself.
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