Netizens are lashing out at a zoo in Wuhan after they found a giant panda had been mistreated by a zookeeper.
A video posted by a Weibo user online shows the panda Weiwei, 13, eating an apple surrounded by ants. Online photos show Weiwei's palms, genitals and nose devoid of hair. A zookeeper was seen smoking and feeding Weiwei without washing his hands in the video.
Responding to the public outcry, the Wuhan Zoo said Tuesday on Sina Weibo that the zookeeper has been suspended.
The zoo announced it will return the panda to the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Sichuan Province's Ya'an city. Weiwei was transferred to the Wuhan Zoo in 2008 following the Sichuan earthquake.
"The giant panda Weiwei was placed in a transport cage this morning, which is quite small. It will be flown to Sichuan as soon as today if he adapts well to the cage," a Wuhan Zoo staffer told the Global Times on Wednesday.
