A giant panda gave tourists the shock of their lives as it tried to eat a meat cleaver at a zoo in south-west China.
The 12-year-old female panda, named Meng Meng, was filmed playing with the knife after mistaking it for a bamboo stem at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province last Wednesday.
The cleaver was accidentally left in the panda’s enclosure by a keeper, the zoo said in a statement following the incident, adding that Meng Meng was fortunately not hurt by the blade.
Apparently realizing the metal blade is not its favorite treat, the disappointed panda eventually dropped the cleaver on the ground and climbed towards the bamboo sticks behind her – much to the relief of the visitors.
Witnesses said the panda had been playing with the blade for about a minute.
