Watch the National Zoo’s baby panda romp in snow for the first time

The arctic blast that’s brought bitterly cold temperatures to a large swath of the United States this week doesn't appear to be bothering Bao Bao, the adorable baby panda at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

In video footage released by the zoo Tuesday, Bao Bao can be seen frolicking in the snow, tumbling down a slope with a fallen branch. According to zoo officials, it’s the first time the 16-month-old panda cub has experienced snow. The baby panda made her outdoor debut in April.

“Today was Bao Bao’s first time playing in the snow outside!” the zoo said in a Facebook post. “And she was quite the little snow panda. She spent her morning tumbling down the hill in her yard, climbing and sliding down trees and pouncing on her mom Mei Xiang!”

Giant pandas are native to mountainous bamboo forests in China, the zoo noted, which can be cold and snowy in the winter. The National Zoo is home to three of them, and giant pandas are part of the Smithsonian’s conservation efforts for endangered species. According to China's Wildlife Conservation Association, there are as few as 1,600 giant pandas alive in the wild.

Bao Bao is a popular attraction for the zoo’s visitors — so popular that zoo officials were forced to limit the panda house exhibit to one-way foot traffic earlier this year to control the crowds hoping to catch a glimpse of the then-8-month-old cub.