A 12-year-old was badly injured by a male giant panda on Monday after the boy climbed into an outdoor playground built for the animal at the Beijing Zoo.
Seeing the intruder, the panda named Gu Gu rushed at him, tackled him and bit him on the leg, a witness surnamed Wang said.
"It only got off him after a foreign tourist threw a bottle of water at its back," another witness, surnamed Yu, said. The boy was rushed to hospital for treatment after witnesses called zookeepers and drove the panda out of the playground. A similar incident occurred at the zoo's panda hall several years ago.
The injured boy was rushed to hospital and performed an operation.
Male giant panda Gu Gu
(China Daily, Beijing Times October 25, 2007)
