Chengdu's giant panda Hehua suddenly became a top female celebrity, with her videos receiving over a million likes on short video platforms. Every day, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Base attracts numerous tourists, screaming for Hehua's every action.
The official introduction of Hehua is as follows: "Short and chubby, slow in movement, and not good at climbing trees." It has been loved by people for its silly and peaceful nature. The freshly peeled bamboo shoot in its hand is snatched away by other pandas, and passing pandas will inexplicably beat it up a few times. The bullied flower just looks at these little friends in confusion, unaware of what has happened, and of course, unaware that the humans outside the garden are here for it.
In the world of giant pandas, celebrities are born from time to time for various reasons. Oreo is born because of her high appearance, Xiaoya is born because of her shabby appearance, cute and mischievous orchids, Fuwan is inspirational, and Qizai has rare brown hair
Why do people like these giant pandas? The common answer is, of course, cute.
However, a panda, originally born in deep mountains and rarely known, gradually became well-known worldwide and gave rise to countless stories. Apart from being cute, there must be other reasons.
1. A naturally cute creature
The appearance of pandas perfectly matches human preferences for cute creatures: big heads, big eyes, short noses, and furry fur. In animated films, the young characters with big heads and big eyes are often likable characters, while those with big eyes are not likable villains. Pandas not only have a large proportion of their heads, but their unique black eye circles are visually enhanced versions of their big eyes. Coupled with clumsy and often embarrassing movements, they seem to naturally grow in the way people like, making it difficult not to make their hearts soft.
Pandas have a playful nature, and the most popular type of panda video online is their "wits and bravery" with their keepers. Sometimes they take their things by surprise, sometimes they circle with them, making them busy, or without saying a word, they cling to the keeper's thigh and never let go. The keeper can only seize the opportunity to get rid of it.
Due to time, distance, economy and other reasons, most people can't get a close look at the life habits of pandas. However, the rise of new media and social media has greatly exposed the daily life of pandas in the public view, which has been spontaneously spread and re created by netizens, adding countless cute and cute materials for pandas to the Internet. The "iPanda Panda Channel", which is broadcast live 24 hours a year, does not have a single explanation, but is never short of audience, and always provides spiritual healing for people living everywhere.
As more and more live broadcasts, videos, and pictures enter the field of vision, many people gradually learn to distinguish seemingly identical pandas, be able to name them based on their different characteristics, and understand their personalities. In the eyes of loyal panda fans, each panda looks different, has different physical features, has different personalities, and has cuteness.
And the personality of the panda Hehua is not only silly and cute, but also very hardworking. Hehua is a premature baby, slower than the average panda, and learning is slower, but it works very hard to learn. It has short hands and feet, and its strength is also small. It climbed several times but fell down, and finally persisted in climbing the tree. The inspirational and hardworking Hehua makes people even more compassionate.
Panda Fuwan was born paralyzed in the lower body. When climbing a tree for the first time, he could only climb a very thin tree. His whole body was focused on his two front paws, and he struggled to move up the tree while hanging his body. The photographer teared while taking photos, and turned to look at his companions, each one sobbing.
It is these scenes with human nature that make people most moved.
The previous generation of top panda, Oreo, once got her head stuck in a cage when she was young. Several other panda cubs wanted to go and save her, but they didn't know how to do it. They were in a hurry and could only call out. They called the caretaker "wet nurse" to help Oreo escape. This is reflected in the touching friendship between pandas.
The interaction between mother pandas and their babies is often touching. Pandas have a natural love for climbing trees, and when too young panda babies climb trees, mother pandas will stop them for fear of danger. But sometimes mother pandas will deliberately push their babies down the slope to hone them. When panda babies grow up, they will undergo artificial weaning and be forcibly taken away from their mother. At that time, mother pandas' separation anxiety can overflow the screen, shouting everywhere to find their babies, which is heartbreaking.
Nowadays, the top performers in the panda world are Hehua and Menglan. Menglan is the "Three Princes of Xizhimen" at Beijing Zoo, and is the child of the famous beauty panda Mengmeng and the returning panda Meilan. In their respective lineages, Menglan is their third child. Menglan has a lively and outgoing personality, and when she was young, she rose to fame with a unique and open-minded sleeping posture, and famous deeds have emerged from childhood to adulthood.
When a panda is followed by netizens due to accidental reasons, its every move will be magnified and interpreted, opening up a life full of stories in the public eye. For example, one year, Panda Qiyi playfully hugged the thigh of a keeper, and the video unexpectedly gained over 100 million views and became popular. Because of an accidental explosion, it attracted countless traffic and created a generation of panda stars. This is the role of the new media era.
2. Deeper love
In the past decade, with the rise of social media, the range of panda enthusiasts has rapidly expanded, forming a "panda circle". People who love pandas have found similar species. Some panda fans fly to Chengdu almost every month to see pandas and also visit zoos in various cities in China. Aunties who retire often find houses next to the Chengdu Panda Base and know almost every panda in the base. Netizens watch panda live broadcasts on the "iPanda Panda Channel".
After years of being obsessed with pandas, these loyal panda enthusiasts have accumulated a wealth of knowledge about pandas and are no longer simply attracted by their appearance. People gradually realize that pandas are not always innocent and carefree, but they also have emotions and uncomfortable moments. Whether a panda is in good condition can be almost immediately seen by panda enthusiasts. Some pandas are related to their living environment, such as limited activity space, insufficient facilities, limited staff, and basic medical conditions. At this time, panda enthusiasts often offer help.
They supervise the living environment of pandas. Xiao Qiao said that the conditions in zoos where pandas were rented were insufficient, and the activity space was very limited. Some panda enthusiasts complained to the zoo and forestry bureau, and eventually the panda's hometown terminated the lease and took back the pandas. There was once a northern animal park that fed pandas with bamboo from Henan, but the pandas didn't like to eat it. Under the supervision of panda enthusiasts, the zoo brought bamboo from Sichuan instead.
This group of panda enthusiasts hopes that in addition to observing the cuteness of pandas, more people can also learn about panda knowledge, which will help better protect pandas. Some panda enthusiasts are gradually paying attention to more wild animal populations. As a "flagship species", the influence of giant pandas can bring attention to the protection of other species.