France’s first baby panda made his debut at the zoo, and all he wants to do is play
Self-care is more important than ever in such tumultuous times, and nothing provides quite as much TLC as cute, fuzzy animals. Even if you don’t have access to a cuddly creature in real life, it’s in your best interest to make sure you receive a daily intake of adorable animal photos and videos to preserve your general wellness. It’s not an apple a day that keeps the doctor away anymore. Now, it’s videos of dogs who figured out how to go sledding and pictures of adorable puppies at Target. And an adorable five-month-old baby panda named Yuan Meng.
Yuan Meng just made his official debut at Beauval Zoo in France, and you most definitely should add him to your rotation of cute animals to watch. The baby panda will fit right in among other zoo favorites like Fiona the Hippo and Ajabu the elephant.
Right from the start of Yuan Meng’s public debut, the baby panda has tickled the zoo’s spectators. The Associated Press described the scene, saying, “France’s first baby panda has made his grand public entrance by acting like many five-month-olds — climbing all over his mother.” Based on the pictures and videos posted by the Beauval Zoo, little Yuan Meng is acting just as adorably as you’d hope he would.
Look at this little baby panda!
Even though Yuan Meng is five months old, he was kept away from the public following his highly-anticipated birth. Maybe because baby pandas are actually kind of terrifying. Or maybe because he just wasn’t ready for a while. Either way, those months of anticipation made Yuan Meng’s debut that much cuter.
The baby panda clearly has a strong connection to his mother, Huan Huan.
Huan Huan arrived at the zoo in 2012. Yuan Meng’s parents are in France on loan from China as part of a reproductive program. Reproduction is difficult for pandas, as females are only fertile for a few days out of the year. But the loan resulted in Yuan Meng, which might make it the cutest international trade in the world.
The cuteness, it’s almost too much to handle.
But…it’s not, so here’s another picture.
Y’know, self-care.
