The geniuses at the Toronto Zoo know what we need to start our week off right: adorable, ungainly panda bears, toppling from trees and sometimes from the mere struggle to stand upright. Welcome to the “Panda-Opera.”
Set to the famous strains of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” the Toronto Zoo’s compilation remains one of my favorite videos on the Internet and a go-to pick me up whenever the world seems a little too dark or difficult.
In actuality, the pandas seem to fall with a certain grace here—so roly-poly and well-accustomed to toppling over that they never appear injured or particularly surprised by their tumbles. Occasionally they even seem like they could be going for a somersault, but just gave up midway. One of the commenters on Facebook wrote, “This is a ‘how to fall and not get hurt’ instructional video—stay relaxed and loose and make sure you can bounce.” Perhaps, in the end, we have much to learn from our panda pals.
Pandas famously love to consume large quantities of bamboo at all hours of the day and trip over their feet (paws) without warning, traits that many of us can identify with. Although I totally could have clung onto that branch for a while longer, I swear.
(via Global News, the Toronto Zoo, image: screengrab)
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