A man broke into the Giant Panda Pavilion of a zoo in Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, on Saturday to tease a giant panda. Photo: Sina Weibo

A man broke into the Giant Panda Pavilion of a zoo in Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, on Saturday to tease a giant panda. Neither the man nor the panda was harmed and the man was taken away by police immediately after the incident, the zoo said on Sunday.

A video posted online shows a man crouching in front of an adult panda at the zoo and reaching out to touch its head, but the animal jerks away. The near-zero contact between the man and the giant panda prompted gasps from other visitors.

"Some tourists look for trouble. Everyone loves pandas, but they can't just do what they want!" said the netizen who posted the video.

A staff member at the zoo told the media that the panda pavilion is equipped with a glass barrier to separate visitors from the pandas, and it's still unclear how the man got in. The man was taken away by police and security measures will be tightened at the zoo, the staff member added.

The public concerns over giant panda Ya Ya in the US have grown into a spontaneous "campaign" among Chinese people all around the world to check how pandas are surviving at home and abroad.

"I hope Ya Ya and all pandas living at home and abroad can be treated well," said a netizen on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo.

Global Times