Terrified Panda Hugging Police Officer’s Leg After Earthquake: Fact Check

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Terrified Panda Hugging Police Officers Leg After an Earthquake

Other Versions

Scared Panda Hugs Zookeeper’s Leg after Earthquake

Fact Check:

A heart-warming picture that appears online quite often comes with a claim that the terrified Panda is hugging a Police officer’s leg after an Earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011. The ‘touching’ photograph of the poor frightened panda in fact became a standard image of tragedy on social networks. Nonetheless, the claim about linking the incident to Earthquake disaster is a hoax.

Not Terrified Panda Hugging Police Officer’s Leg

The photograph of the cute Panda holding a man’s leg is actually an old one. It appeared on Chinese website China.eastday.com back on 5 Jan. 2006. The giant Panda was in fact holding a feeder’s legs at the Chinese Giant Panda Protection Center in Wolong, in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on 4 Jan. 2006. At the time, the Chinese mainland was to present a selected pair of giant pandas to Taiwanese compatriots as a symbol of peace, unity and friendship. In this article, you can also see few other pictures from the scene.

So, the photograph of Panda hugging a man’s leg is real, but the associated context of terror after earthquake is a hoax.

Hoax or Fact:

Partially Fact.

References:

Giant panda couple for Taiwan to be unveiled Jan. 6