This panda cub playing in the snow for the first time is so cute it hurts

The world is not always so bad

Published January 6, 2015 7:45PM (EST)

   (Devin Murphy/Smithsonian's National Zoo)
(Devin Murphy/Smithsonian's National Zoo)

Are you a human or alien with a heart? Then you will die a thousand joy deaths watching Bao Bao, the National Zoo's 16-month-old giant panda cub playing in the snow for the first time.

In the far-too-short video, Bao Bao curls up into a fuzzy ball and hurls himself across his snowy enclosure. Then, he wrassles with his ma, Mei Xiang. Then, you run to your office bathroom and have a quick cry because can you even remember the last time you felt such unadulterated happiness?

Further vetting: Salon's Lindsay Abrams raves, "It's rare that I like an animal video, but this is by far the exception."

For more pictures of National Zoo animals frolicking, click here.


By Joanna Rothkopf

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Cub Panda Snow Video