Bao Bao Touched A 'Hot Wire,' Is Now Hiding Up A Tree

Poor Bao Bao.

Beloved local panda Bao Bao touched a "hot wire" in her National Zoo habitat yesterday, sending her up a tree where she remains. Her mother, Mei Xiang, is reportedly very concerned. From the Zoo:

For everyone wondering about giant panda cub Bao Bao, she chose to spend last night outdoors in a tree. Staff determined that Bao Bao touched a 'hot wire' in her yard yesterday afternoon. This is a safe warning system used by Zoos for containment. Her reaction was to climb up a tree where she feels safe. This behavior is predictable. Bao Bao is perfectly fine and like all Zoo animals, she is still learning the boundaries of her habitat. Keepers decided to give Mei access to the outdoor yard overnight and she choose to stay with Bao Bao, a likely scenario for a mother panda to stay with her cub in the wild. A keeper stayed overnight in the panda house just in case they decided to come inside. The staff are adjusting the pandas' routine today and are confident that Bao Bao will come down when she is ready.

You can watch Bao Bao hide in the tree via live panda cam. Here's a video of Bao Bao having a good time yesterday before getting zapped.

Update @ 2 p.m.: Bao Bao made it to the bottom of the tree, briefly considering returning to solid ground, before thinking better of it and returning to the top.

Update @ 5 p.m.: Bao Bao is still hanging out in the tree.