Video of panda cub Xiao Qi Ji’s incredibly fun snow day is un-bear-ably cute

January 4, 2022

Panda cub Xiao Qi Ji from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo showcased his “belly-sliding skills” during Washington D.C.’s first snow day of the year.

Xiao Qi Ji’s snow belly-sliding skills

While the Washington, D.C., snowstorm on Monday may have been a bother to some, the National Zoo’s panda cub, Xiao Qi Ji, had a blast rolling and sliding down in the snow.

The 16-month-old giant panda first experienced snow on Jan. 31, 2021; however, he seemed hesitant with his snow encounter as a 5-month-old cub back then, according to the National Zoo.

But as he stepped out onto the snow on Jan. 3, 2022, he showed more confidence and his childlike snow day spirit as he rolled and slid down the hill before joining another panda to have some more fun as seen on the YouTube video uploaded by the National Zoo.

“New year, new Xiao Qi Ji!” the National Zoo wrote in the YouTube video’s description box. “In January 2021, our giant panda cub was a little wary during his first encounter with snow. This morning, the 16-month-old plowed face-first into the fresh powder, rolled around and relished the year’s first #SnowDay. His belly-sliding skills are 10/10!”

More animals in the snow

The National Zoo also took to Twitter to share videos of other animals having fun in their enclosure’s winter wonderland. A video included two sloth bears, an American Bison and an Asian elephant in the district as well as a cheetah and her cubs in Virginia.

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They also posted a picture of a wallaby with the caption: “Today’s #SnowDay brought snowflakes that stayed on our Bennett’s Wallaby’s nose and eyelashes!”

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Featured Images via Smithsonian’s National Zoo

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