Seriously, this is a cute way of being close to nature.....

Panda costumes used to fool four-month-old cub

Researchers at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre have been dressing up in panda outfits in an effort to fool a cute panda cub.

 

Spot the real panda: researchers in panda costumes check the body temperature of a panda cub (Reuters)

The four-month-old cub is the first to be trained for reintroduction into the wild by the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province, China.

 

A Giant Panda proves to be remarkably adept at removing lids. (AP)

But for the baby panda to be reintroduced successfully, the cub’s environment must have absolutely no human influence, which is where the panda outfits come in.

While these pictures may appear to be of caring panda parents, they are in fact researchers in disguise.

Researchers from the centre wear the furry panda outfits to hide their human shape when checking the cub’s progress.

The baby panda is monitored by hidden cameras, but researchers have had to handle the cub to undertake physical examinations in order to monitor weight and body temperature.

The cub now weighs 8,270 grams, and is said by the research centre to be quite healthy.

Source: Metro UK