٠٠:٠١:٠١Mandatory credit: Svetlana Akulova's Telegram channel @svetlanaakulova1
Katyusha the giant panda cub from Moscow Zoo was seen learning to climb - and fall too! - on a wooden structure at the facility.
Footage published on Wednesday shows mummy Ding Ding playing with her cub and carefully descending a wooden slide, while the youngster clumsily rolls down. Video from Thursday shows Katyusha hanging from a bar in the enclosure, before losing her balance and falling onto a cushion of bamboo leaves.
Zoo director Svetlana Akulova reassured fans via her Telegram channel that young pandas can safely fall from heights, with enlarged spaces between the vertebrae serving as a buffer.
The female panda cub, born in August last year, was named 'Katyusha' after the popular Russian folk song, in a public vote on Moscow city's online portal.
Katyusha's parents Ding Ding and Ruyi were brought to Moscow from Beijing in 2019.
Their home, the 'Chinese Fauna' pavilion at Moscow Zoo, was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.
Giant pandas, native to China, are a symbol of conservation efforts worldwide. Ding Ding and Ruyi are part of a scientific initiative aimed at preserving and breeding the rare species.
Oops-a-daisy! Moscow Zoo's panda Katyusha learns to climb the hard way
Katyusha the giant panda cub from Moscow Zoo was seen learning to climb - and fall too! - on a wooden structure at the facility.
Footage published on Wednesday shows mummy Ding Ding playing with her cub and carefully descending a wooden slide, while the youngster clumsily rolls down. Video from Thursday shows Katyusha hanging from a bar in the enclosure, before losing her balance and falling onto a cushion of bamboo leaves.
Zoo director Svetlana Akulova reassured fans via her Telegram channel that young pandas can safely fall from heights, with enlarged spaces between the vertebrae serving as a buffer.
The female panda cub, born in August last year, was named 'Katyusha' after the popular Russian folk song, in a public vote on Moscow city's online portal.
Katyusha's parents Ding Ding and Ruyi were brought to Moscow from Beijing in 2019.
Their home, the 'Chinese Fauna' pavilion at Moscow Zoo, was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.
Giant pandas, native to China, are a symbol of conservation efforts worldwide. Ding Ding and Ruyi are part of a scientific initiative aimed at preserving and breeding the rare species.
Mandatory credit: Svetlana Akulova's Telegram channel @svetlanaakulova1
Katyusha the giant panda cub from Moscow Zoo was seen learning to climb - and fall too! - on a wooden structure at the facility.
Footage published on Wednesday shows mummy Ding Ding playing with her cub and carefully descending a wooden slide, while the youngster clumsily rolls down. Video from Thursday shows Katyusha hanging from a bar in the enclosure, before losing her balance and falling onto a cushion of bamboo leaves.
Zoo director Svetlana Akulova reassured fans via her Telegram channel that young pandas can safely fall from heights, with enlarged spaces between the vertebrae serving as a buffer.
The female panda cub, born in August last year, was named 'Katyusha' after the popular Russian folk song, in a public vote on Moscow city's online portal.
Katyusha's parents Ding Ding and Ruyi were brought to Moscow from Beijing in 2019.
Their home, the 'Chinese Fauna' pavilion at Moscow Zoo, was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.
Giant pandas, native to China, are a symbol of conservation efforts worldwide. Ding Ding and Ruyi are part of a scientific initiative aimed at preserving and breeding the rare species.