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Chinese hotel ordered to stop letting red pandas wake guests in their beds [1]
['Ellsworth Toohey']
Date: 2025-06-26
A Chinese hotel must stop letting red pandas wake up guests by climbing into their beds, following orders from local authorities concerned about both safety and animal welfare, reports The Independent.
The Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel in Chongqing had made the unusual wake-up service one of its main attractions, as reported in The Independent. The service allowed guests to interact with one of four red pandas kept on site, which would enter guest rooms in the morning accompanied by staff members.
A video from British YouTubers Reanne and Ben shows the intimate nature of these encounters. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I've got a panda on my bed," Reanne says in footage of their April visit, as they fed apple chunks to a red panda that had climbed onto their hotel bed.
While the hotel maintains the animals are properly vaccinated and cared for, wildlife experts express serious concerns. "Red pandas are a nationally protected wild species and should not be kept as pets or for tourism-related entertainment," says Sun Quanhui from World Animal Protection, speaking to the Global Times. The Chongqing Forestry Bureau has launched an investigation into the practice and ordered the hotel to immediately stop all close contact between pandas and visitors.
"The pandas are naturally sensitive animals, and being forced to interact with guests could trigger a stress response," Quanhui explains, highlighting why such tourist attractions can be problematic for wildlife.
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