Parents all over the world know what a painstaking endeavor it is to keep their very young children safe—whether it be at home, playing outside, or while out and about. Apparently, this doesn’t just apply to humans, as a touching video from the Taipei Zoo showed.
After the naming process, which got the Taiwanese public involved, the name Yuan Zai (圓仔) was chosen for the female baby panda. The name can be translated to mean “child of Yuan Yuan” and can also mean “rice ball” because of the chubby little baby panda’s fluffy white coat.
It was a lengthy process with lots of crying on Yuan Zai’s part until Yuan Yuan finally found the perfect position for her cub to be comforted and start nursing. This video remains the Taipei Zoo channel’s most popular of all, with over 8 million views.
After their reunion, there was still a process of getting used to each other and learning to live together as a family. And just like any slightly curious and rebellious child getting to discover the world for the first time, Yuan Zai was eager to push the boundaries.
In the video called “Giant Panda Yuan Yuan’s Parenting,” we see that cub Yuan Zai has grown a lot and is learning to walk. Just like a human toddler, she is still getting the hang of balancing, though. As the video explains, “She may not be steady yet, but every time the keepers put her back in her den, she crawls right out.”
With Yuan Zai being quite curious about any surrounding sound or movement and loving to explore, we see her faltering footsteps leading right toward the big event of the day—in this case the camera crew set up and waiting for her. Each time they move back a step to keep her in frame, she plows right toward them, almost headbutting the camera.
“Yuan Zai is a very determined panda bear,” the video explains.
Here, the cub seems fascinated by what’s going on inside the other part of the enclosure, where the keepers are sweeping bits and pieces of leftover bamboo from the floor. Once the keepers are done with their housecleaning, they give mom Yuan Yuan her morning meal of bamboo. Yuan Zai sees her mom having breakfast but is enjoying her walkabout too much to stay still for long.
Soon, Yuan Yuan decides that the little one has had enough wandering for one day and it’s time to come home to mommy. She wanders over and gently pulls her not-so-little cub by the scruff of her neck along the floor. And before long, baby is safe and sound in mommy’s arms. It’s a sight that simply warms the heart.
