Netizens cried foul against an official breeder who was seen beating a giant panda called ' Hua Ni' from the Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Kindergarten in the Giant Panda Research Centre in Sichuan, China.

An online video and photo sparked rage over the internet in past few days. The post shows the said caretaker hitting the head of the panda when it tried to get close to him.

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"Stop it and please take care of them, don't break the hearts of panda fans again," Jasmine-Guiguibupani posted on her Weibo account, a Chinese microblog like Twitter, after seeing the video.

Authorities of the Research Centre confirmed on Friday that the act of the their breeder is unlawful. They assured the people that they will take appropriate actions to address the issue.

Sichuan Forestry Department also released a statement regarding the hitting incident. The keeper of the panda is now under thorough investigation.

In addition, a post on the research center's official Weibo account said he man is suspended until further notice.

According to the authorities, they advised their breeders not to be over friendly to the cubs because they are capable of harming them and endangering their life but they strongly remind them that pandas should also not be treated as wild animals.

One of the staff, however, admitted that the keeper on the video mishandled the situation. The claws and teeth of the pandas can hurt the caretakers even if the animal does not mean any harm, but a gentle hit on the panda's ear or nose should have sufficed, he explained.

The Research Center continues to emphasize that they will not tolerate such actions done to pandas, especially fromtheir workers. They will be imposing stricter regulations for the proper handling of the animal.

The giant panda is a bear native to south central China and can be easily distinguished with distinctive black pacthes around its eyes, its ears and around its body.

TagsGiant Panda, breeder beating panda, caught on cam, Panda