A giant panda grabbed a man's leg and pulled him to the ground after he sneaked into the animal's enclosure in China.

The unnamed visitor was captured on camera walking up to the sleeping adult male called Mei Ling.

He had apparently jumped in to show off in front of his female friends at the zoo in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province.

As the man stood over the 120kg (19 stone) panda, 12-year-old Mei Ling woke and ran towards him, immediately grabbing his right leg.

Image: The visitor was eventually able to flee the scene

The move has apparently been used in the past when pandas are playing with their keepers.


However, the man got himself into a sticky situation when he was wrestled onto the grass.

His attempts to stroke the panda's back to get him to let go proved unsuccessful.

He was eventually able to free his leg and run away by turning his body in a wrestling-style move so that he was on top of the panda.

Kuang Huaming, from Nanchang Zoo, said: "The young man left the zoo right after he escaped, and we could not get in touch with him.

"According to witnesses, his trousers were torn a little by the panda, but the man should be OK.

"We also arranged medical checks for the panda and told the breeders to closely observe its condition. So far the panda is fine."