It wasn’t so long ago that glorified mole rat Bei Bei actually started looking like a real panda, but the Zoo is already pitting us all against each other for a chance to see the cub in the flesh earlier than his January debut.

The Smithsonian National Zoo today launched a competition called #PandaStory, which will grant winners the chance to meet Bei Bei and scope out the giant panda habitat before the rest of the plebeians. The difference is nearly a month: a December 19 meeting rather than January 16.

To take part, you’ve got to have an Instagram account. The zoo wants entrants to make a short video—15 seconds or less—on the social media platform about pandas. More details about how to submit the video are available here, but you have until December 7 to strategize your angle and apply.

No word on whether winners get the inside scoop on the animals’ complicated love lives.

Filed Under: baby panda, bei bei, Hey Bei Bei, panda cub, zoo,