Video: Tian Tian, the giant panda, takes a bubble bath at Smithsonian's National Zoo

A video showing the moment a giant panda takes a bubble bath has become an online hit. Tian Tian, a giant panda who lives at The Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington DC, gave himself a spring cleaning recently by taking a sudsy bubble bath in his enclosure.

The zoo posted a video of Tian Tian's bath on 25 March, showing him splashing his face and ears before sitting in a large bucket. The 19-second clip has attracted over 500,000 views on the zoo's Facebook page.

According to the zoo, pandas would not normally bathe regularly in the wild, but Tian Tian is "in rut", or showing behaviors associated with breeding, which brings out his love for the water.