SAN DIEGO -- Snow covered the panda exhibit at the San Diego Zoo Wednesday, and Hua Mei took full advantage of the chance to frolick in the cold summer treat.

Video

Hua Mei Beats The Heat

Hua Mei, the panda born at the zoo in 1999, could be seen sliding head-first on her tummy, flipping herself over, rubbing chunks of snow on her face and otherwise enjoying herself.

"It's kind of unusual for her to see the white stuff because she's a California native," said Paul Garcia of the zoo. "She was amused with the snow, doing all sorts of activities, including handstands, which show joy."

Hua Mei had experienced man-made snow once before.

She will be heading for China sometime after her third birthday on Aug. 21. Because her parents, father Shi Shi and mother Bai Yun, are on loan from China, their offspring also belong to that country.

Keepers also pumped snow into Shi Shi's exhibit area, but his reaction was more subdued -- both because of his age and the fact that he experienced plenty of snow in China, Garcia said.

Bai Yun, meanwhile, is off exhibit in a secluded area so keepers can monitor whether artificial insemination procedures in April produced a pregnancy.

Panda pregnancies are difficult to detect, and keepers didn't know she was pregnant the last time until three days before Hua Mei's birth.