InstagramWho doesn't love a super-cute panda story?!
The National Zoo's giant panda cub Bao Bao went outside for the first time today to experience the "cub-proofed" panda yard with mother Mei Xiang. The 7-month-old cutie spent about two hours outside and even tried out her climbing skills on one of the smaller trees and sat on the grass with a piece of bamboo.
And the best part? Bao Bao's adventure in the great outdoors was caught on tape for all to enjoy!
The adorable footage shows Bao Bao getting snuggly with her mother before she ventured out on her own and flipped around in the dirt (unfortunately, we didn't get a re-enactment of this famous panda moment).
Bao Bao, which means "treasure," lives in the National Zoo in Washington DC. The cub was born on August 23, 2013 and is one of only several hundred giant pandas alive today in captivity, a small fraction of the fewer than 2,000 giant pandas in the world.
Giant pandas are an endangered species, and are protected in part by conservation efforts at reservations and in zoos such as the Smithsonian National Zoo where Bao Bao resides. Additionally, giant panda births are rare and the cub of Mei Xiang is a result of artificial insemination.