Throwing Cigarettes To Meludah, 12 Tourists Are Prohibited From Entering Panda Scarcity For Life

Panda illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Chi King)

Dozens of tourists have been barred from entering the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center in Chengdu, China for life, for reportedly showing bad behavior around the animals.

A total of 12 people aged between 26 and 61 years were banned for life from the research center, according to an upload on the official WeChat account belonging to the Research Center.

The visitor, who behaved poorly, was "caught wet throwing amethys, lolly candy, cigarettes, eggs or bread and selling it to panda play areas outdoors on several occasions," reads the post on WeChat, according to CNN June 20.

"The pandas are fine and healthy," he added.

Research centers have not publicly identified prohibited guests or their nationality.

The WeChat upload further explained that the tourists did not come together. The violation occurred between April and June this year.

In fact, the venue, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Chengdu, has detailed visitor instructions on its website.

"Please pay attention to the safety of you and your animals," reads one notification.

"Stay calm and stay away from the animals; litter, shower, throw food into the area of animal activity, and other behavior that threatens the safety of animals is prohibited," the notice continued.

It also further warned that the violation of this rule could result in "punishments for violators with various levels of punishment, such as criticizing and educating, barring them from entering the park within a year, barring them from entering the park within five years, or barring them from entering the park for life and so on."

The Chengdu Giant Panda Capture Research Center opened in 1987 in southwest China's Sichuan Province. It is intended as a "world-class research facility, conservation education center, and international education tourism destination."

The center is also designed to recreate the natural habitat of giant pandas, which are native Chinese animals.

The steps scientists take to create this environment can include wearing panda costumes sprayed with panda urine to "unify".

It is known, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) raised the status of a giant panda from "endangered" to "vulnerable" in 2018. It is estimated that there are 1,800 pandas living in the wild today.