Over the past few decades, the entire world has devoted a crazy amount of time and a crazy number of resources to making sure pandas don’t go extinct. If you were to ask animal conservationists why, they’d probably spin you some politically correct yarn about how every species is worth saving, but the fact of the matter is pandas get all the special attention because they’re adorable. If they looked like anteaters, wombats or female anglerfish, there would only be five or six left, and Cruelle de Vil would probably be hunting them without consequences to make some sweet coats.
Here’s the funny thing about pandas, though. The cubs are hideous. They’ve got super bendable tongues, and they look like raccoons. If you didn’t know any better, you would think the little rascals would grow up with life goals of knocking over your trash cans, not being beloved symbols of Chinese patriotism. Luckily, they overcome the early awkward phase and become handsome devils, a fact that’s incredibly clear in the above video that features a mother panda snuggling with her gargoyle-like newborn.
Shot by workers at the Taipei Zoo, the footage features a reunion. The cub was taken away from the mother not long after birth in order for a battery of tests to be run. Once the medical procedures were finished, the cub was dropped back into the enclosure, at which point the mom promptly picked the little one up by her teeth and cradled it for awhile. The whole thing is about as adorable as anything that’s ever happened on Earth and is a pretty good reminder of why people line up for hours just to catch a glimpse of the animals at the zoo.
Beyond that, the clip is also a great reminder that if you’re ever being chased by an angry panda, you can probably save yourself if you find some honey. The mama panda in this video gets so distracted by the deliciousness that she completely loses track of her baby, giving workers time to swoop in and pull the cub back out for some more medical work. She gives Winnie the Pooh a run for her money in terms of single-minded honey obsession, and while the video cuts off before we get there, I’m pretty sure she probably wasn’t the happiest of panda campers after discovering the cub was gone again.
If reincarnation somehow winds up being legit, you should keep your fingers crossed you come back as a panda or a white lion or something equally as adorable. It would certainly make life a whole lot easier.
