South Australian zoo reviews safety after teenager enters giant panda enclosure

Canberra [Australia], December 13: One of Australia's top zoos has launched a safety review after a student breached its giant panda enclosure.
The Adelaide Zoo has committed to reviewing its safety protocols following an incident on Monday where a secondary school student climbed into the enclosure of its two pandas, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, to retrieve a mobile phone he had dropped.
Wang Wang and Fu Ni are Australia's only breeding pair of giant pandas, having been on loan from China since 2009, and are one of the zoo's top attractions.
Elaine Bensted, chief executive officer of Zoos South Australia (SA), said the student was filming when he dropped his phone and jumped an electrified fence to retrieve it.
The enclosure was locked down and hot wires that protect the pandas were switched off so staff could rescue the student with a ladder.
The teenager was unharmed but was taken for medical checks as a precaution.
Wang Wang was the only panda in the enclosure at the time but Bensted said he slept through the disturbance.
Zoos SA has launched a review of its procedures to prevent any similar future incidents.
"We're very pleased that the incident passed without any impact on either the student or the pandas but we'll do a full debrief and make that assessment as to whether or not what we've got in place is suitable," Bensted said.
Zoos SA on Friday announced that Fu Ni has been exhibiting behaviors consistent with pregnancy following an artificial insemination attempt but that does not mean she is pregnant.
It said it will not know whether the zoo will welcome its first panda cub until mid-2023.
Source: Xinhua