Three panda keepers bitten by two bears were reprimanded after an online outcry over their rough handling of the normally docile animals at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province, according to a base official.

The keepers - two men and a woman who graduated from college last year - had tried to prevent the two pandas from leaving their den because a routine examination was scheduled for the next day. They promised to perform better after the reprimand from senior managers at the base, the official said.

On July 12, a netizen posted a video clip showing the three keepers repeatedly throwing the two pandas back into their den, and pushing and pulling the animals to prevent them from leaving with two other bears.