All it takes to get in a festive mood is a sprinkling of snow and a soft hill to sled — or even roll — down.
Just ask MeiXiang, an adorable 19-year-old giant panda.
A new video of MeiXiang playing in the snow is downright delightful.
Taken by the team at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where MeiXiang lives, the playful panda is seen gleefully running up and rolling down a snow-covered hill in her enclosure.
People on Twitter were swooning.
While zoos can carry a negative reputation among animal rights advocates — and justifiably so — MeiXiang’s own story shows why there are pros and cons to life in captivity.
MeiXiang was born at a research and conservation center in China committed to protecting her species before she was moved to the U.S.
The Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute works closely with its counterparts in East Asia studying the behaviors, breeding patterns, and overall health of giant pandas — knowledge that can help grow wild populations.
Fortunately, efforts like theirs are paying off: between 2003 to 2013, the wild panda population rose by 17%.
Don’t fret about MeiXiang being out in the cold, either — giant pandas are native to the frosty mountains of Western China. They relish in a good snow day! In fact, they actually thrive when temperatures drop.
You keep having fun in your winter wonderland, MeiXiang.
