Bearly any hair! Panda develops bald patches because of all its rolling around
- Three-year-old panda Fuxing was filmed walking around with bald batches
- The male bear at Beijing Zoo began to lose hair in July, according to visitors
- A zoo spokesperson claimed the bear rolled too much, causing the hair loss
A panda in China has developed two bald patches on its head because it rolled around too much, according to a zoo.
Footage of three-year-old Fuxing walking in his enclosure with parts of his skin exposed has caused an outcry on the nation’s social media outlets.
The zoo told reporters that the bear’s hair loss was caused by the fact that the ‘active’ animal rolled on the ground ‘frequently’.
Footage released by state media shows three-year-old Fuxing walking in his enclosure at Beijing zoo with two bald patches on his head. The zoo said Fuxing was ‘particularly active’
Footage released by Chinese state-run newspaper People’s Daily shows the male panda walking in his enclosure with part of the skin uncovered by fur.
A report from Beijing Youth Daily said that Fuxing began to lose hair in late July, and the bald patches appeared in August.
Pictures and videos of the bear led to heated discussions on Chinese social media outlets, with many panda fans speculating the cause of Fuxing’s hair loss.
Fuxing, whose name means ‘Lucky Star’ in English, was born in June 2017 in the city of Ya’an
One user of Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, suspected that Fuxing had got his fur plucked out ‘while fighting’.
Another person wondered if the panda had hit a midlife crisis.
A third commenter joked if Fuxing had been worrying about not being able to find a partner.
Fuxing, whose name means ‘Lucky Star’ in English, was born in June 2017 at the Bifengxia Panda Base near the city of Ya’an.
A spokesperson of the Beijing Zoo claimed that Fuxing was ‘particularly active’ after reaching the age of three.
A video released by Beijing Zoo in May shows a keeper training Fuxing to roll around. The zoo worker is seen giving Fuxing food as a reward every time the bear completes the action
Zhang Chenglin, the vice director of the Zoo, told Beijing Youth Daily that Fuxing’s bald patches were caused by the fact that he rolled around ‘frequently’.
He said that the bear often rubbed his head against the ground.
‘We think Fuxing’s bald patches aren’t external injuries, nor has he suffered bacterial infections. [The hair loss] is caused by his action of rolling,’ Zhang told the outlet.
However, a video released by the zoo in May shows a keeper training Fuxing to roll around.
The zoo worker is seen in the clip giving Fuxing food as a reward every time the bear completes the action.
It is reported that the zoo has given Fuxing medication, and his hair has started to grow back.