03:02Students of the Moscow College of Architecture gifted wooden cubes with the Russian alphabet to red-listed panda cub Katyusha in Moscow Zoo.
Footage filmed on Friday shows Katyusha getting straight to learning after receiving her new toys. The panda cub can be seen sniffing and biting the cubes until her mum, Ding Ding, came by to make sure Katyusha was studying harder.
"The cubes are such a simple toy, because the panda is still small. They are made of solid pine wood, without glue or any finishing materials. It means they are ecologically clean and the panda can chew them without harm to their health," explained Arina Kuznetsova, one of the students.
"We do love animals, so we decided just to help to make her feel good so that she could somehow have fun spending her childhood," she continued.
According to Moscow Zoo's Chinese fauna department zoologist, Alexander Vervolt, Katyusha often receives toys as gifts and likes to play with them.
"The toys that Katyusha receives are of various formats," he said. "It can be different toys for animals, for pets, made of dense rubber, all sorts of balls, rings. She likes to somersault with them very much. [It can be] maybe some wooden toys and cubes, and figures too, which are intended for pets. We make some toys with our own hands out of bamboo."
Born in August of last year, Katyusha was named after the popular Russian folk song through a public vote conducted on Moscow city's online portal.
Her parents, Ding Ding and Ruyi, were brought to Russia from Beijing in 2019 and reside in the 'Chinese Fauna' pavilion at Moscow Zoo, which was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Giant pandas, native to China, are part of a worldwide conservation programme. Ding Ding and Ruyi are part of the scientific initiative, which focuses on preserving and breeding the rare species.
From A to Zoo! Panda cub Katyusha plays with alphabet cubes in Moscow enclosure
Students of the Moscow College of Architecture gifted wooden cubes with the Russian alphabet to red-listed panda cub Katyusha in Moscow Zoo.
Footage filmed on Friday shows Katyusha getting straight to learning after receiving her new toys. The panda cub can be seen sniffing and biting the cubes until her mum, Ding Ding, came by to make sure Katyusha was studying harder.
"The cubes are such a simple toy, because the panda is still small. They are made of solid pine wood, without glue or any finishing materials. It means they are ecologically clean and the panda can chew them without harm to their health," explained Arina Kuznetsova, one of the students.
"We do love animals, so we decided just to help to make her feel good so that she could somehow have fun spending her childhood," she continued.
According to Moscow Zoo's Chinese fauna department zoologist, Alexander Vervolt, Katyusha often receives toys as gifts and likes to play with them.
"The toys that Katyusha receives are of various formats," he said. "It can be different toys for animals, for pets, made of dense rubber, all sorts of balls, rings. She likes to somersault with them very much. [It can be] maybe some wooden toys and cubes, and figures too, which are intended for pets. We make some toys with our own hands out of bamboo."
Born in August of last year, Katyusha was named after the popular Russian folk song through a public vote conducted on Moscow city's online portal.
Her parents, Ding Ding and Ruyi, were brought to Russia from Beijing in 2019 and reside in the 'Chinese Fauna' pavilion at Moscow Zoo, which was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Giant pandas, native to China, are part of a worldwide conservation programme. Ding Ding and Ruyi are part of the scientific initiative, which focuses on preserving and breeding the rare species.
Students of the Moscow College of Architecture gifted wooden cubes with the Russian alphabet to red-listed panda cub Katyusha in Moscow Zoo.
Footage filmed on Friday shows Katyusha getting straight to learning after receiving her new toys. The panda cub can be seen sniffing and biting the cubes until her mum, Ding Ding, came by to make sure Katyusha was studying harder.
"The cubes are such a simple toy, because the panda is still small. They are made of solid pine wood, without glue or any finishing materials. It means they are ecologically clean and the panda can chew them without harm to their health," explained Arina Kuznetsova, one of the students.
"We do love animals, so we decided just to help to make her feel good so that she could somehow have fun spending her childhood," she continued.
According to Moscow Zoo's Chinese fauna department zoologist, Alexander Vervolt, Katyusha often receives toys as gifts and likes to play with them.
"The toys that Katyusha receives are of various formats," he said. "It can be different toys for animals, for pets, made of dense rubber, all sorts of balls, rings. She likes to somersault with them very much. [It can be] maybe some wooden toys and cubes, and figures too, which are intended for pets. We make some toys with our own hands out of bamboo."
Born in August of last year, Katyusha was named after the popular Russian folk song through a public vote conducted on Moscow city's online portal.
Her parents, Ding Ding and Ruyi, were brought to Russia from Beijing in 2019 and reside in the 'Chinese Fauna' pavilion at Moscow Zoo, which was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Giant pandas, native to China, are part of a worldwide conservation programme. Ding Ding and Ruyi are part of the scientific initiative, which focuses on preserving and breeding the rare species.