A man in southeastern China is being condemned on social media after feeding a hippopotamus with popcorn and the plastic carton that contained the kernels.
The incident occurred inside a zoo in Nanchang, Jiangsu province on Wednesday.
A short video shows the man sitting over a barrier and throwing fistfuls of popcorn at the hippo.
Alarmingly, he then shoots the entire plastic carton of popcorn straight into the animal’s mouth.
To make matters worse, the man faces the camera with a grin after his “score,” while the rest of the visitors laugh.
The zoo learned about the incident soon and lodged a report to the local police, according to Sina News.
Fortunately, a veterinarian determined that the hippopotamus has no serious problems following a check-up.
Many hippos in China are reportedly killed by tourists who feed them food.
Zoo officials warned visitors to abide by rules and refrain from demonstrating uncivilized behavior, Chinese video site TwoEggz noted.
“I can think about giving you plastic when you are in prison.”
“Put him inside and let the visitors feed him.”
“This man is sick.”
“This kind of person should spend the rest of his life in a zoo.”
“I say punish the spectators too.”
