The Associated Press has a shameful story this morning accusing the National Zoo’s beloved panda cub, Tai Shan (aka Butterstick), of injuring a zookeeper. Pandas don’t do anything wrong, AP! They are only adorable and cuddly and lovable and that’s all. Didn’t you get the memo?

So the story is that Tai Shan entered his yard through an unsecured door Tuesday during a routine feeding, where he attempted to “play” with a zookeeper he encountered there and accidentally inflicted a small leg laceration with his teeth. Keepers at the zoo are no longer supposed to be inside the panda cub’s yard with him because he’s become big enough to be dangerous.

We certainly wish the zookeeper a speedy recovery from her injuries. As for this obvious panda smear campaign on the part of the Associated Press, we’d like to suggest at the very least an alternate headline for their story. “National Zoo Keeper Gets in the Way of Panda’s Adorable Teeth”? That sounds better.

Photo by roxandabear