A man has sparked outrage after throwing a bottle of coke at a panda.
He received intense backlash after videos of the incident went viral.
Spectators were surrounding a zoo enclosure where a giant female panda named Lanxiang was relaxing and enjoying some bamboo when a glass bottle of coke suddenly flew towards the animal.
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In footage of the incident, the 22-year-old panda can be seen sitting up, clearly disturbed by the loud bang.
Despite the glass bottle breaking, the panda was not physically injured.
According to witnesses at the Chongqing Zoo, in China, the incident occurred on Sunday (5 Jan) at around 4pm.
Tourists called for security guards to attend the scene immediately.
A member of staff was able to lead Lanxiang to a more relaxed environment using an apple.
Some witnesses said that the man ended up calling the police after being reprimanded.
In another shocking video, he can be heard saying: “Is it wrong for me to call the panda to drink coke?”
Shortly after the incident, the man was taken away by police to be investigated, as reported by Need To Know.
On 6 January, staff at the zoo stated that the security department would be assisting in handling the matter.
Police at Yangjiaping Police Station said an investigation is still underway.
It has been reported that Lanxiang is in good health but experts are observing her 24 hours a day to make sure.
After the videos were released onto Chinese social media platform Webio, many users shared their shock.
One person wrote: “Please detain him for 15 days and remember to inform his work and residence area.”
Another said: “Put him in the garden so he can communicate with Lanxiang up close.”
“He doesn’t think he’s worth more than a panda, does he,” added someone else.
A fourth user commented: “Wouldn’t this amount to a lifetime ban from the park?”
“On the national tourism blacklist, thank you,” fumed another viewer.
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