Panda-monium: Sixteen panda cubs pose for a class shot on their first day at nursery

By Mail Foreign Service
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Posing for their first day at their new nursery, these 16 panda cubs are clearly going to be a handful.

In these amazing images, the tiny pandas are shown their new home for the first time after being separated from their mothers.

The curious cubs were soon exploring their assault course home complete with umbrellas and balloons to welcome them on their first day.

Morning class: The 16 panda cubs posed for a photograph with their keepers at Wolong National Nature Reserve, in Sichuan Province, south west China

It was the first taste of independence for the youngsters at the Wolong National Nature Reserve, in Sichuan Province, south west China.

Keepers at the reserve posed for a class photograph with their wide-eyed pupils and were helping the babies adjust to their new life under the gaze of visitors at the reserve.

Around 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild in China, mostly in Sichuan and the north western provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.

Another 290 pandas are in breeding programmes in the country.

Playtime: The wide-eyed cubs take their first wander around the playground at their new home

I want to play with that: One of the cubs admires a pink umbrella at his new home

PS While these were getting used to their new surroundings, over in the U.S. panda bear Tai Shan was getting ready to head off to China and say goodbye to 12-year-old mum Mei Xiang at the National Zoo in Washington. Under a deal between China and the U.S., all giant pandas originally from China are only on loan to foreign zoos and any cubs they produce must all return to China eventually.
 

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Tai Shan gets covered in snow as he pulls on a branch on his final day at the National Zoo in Washington. The four-year-old is due to head to China

Slip sliding away. Tai Shan's mother Mei Xiang plays in the snow at the National Zoo in Washington