Adorable red panda tries to intimidate a rock

April 12 (UPI) -- A red panda at a zoo in Japan showed off a classic defense mechanism after being startled when encountering a rock in its enclosure.

Video shared to Twitter shows the adorable animal emerging from a hole in its enclosure before abruptly stopping in front of the rock and entering a defensive stance.

Possibly startled by an insect or another small creature, the red panda quickly stood on its hind legs and stretched its body as far as possible to make itself appear larger and more intimidating.

The cuddly creature fell toward the rock before quickly rising to its hind feet again to maintain its menacing posture.

It then began to sniff around the rock to inspect whatever anomaly had appeared in its space and sent it into the defensive state.

After the brief investigation, the seemingly defeated red panda turned around and casually walked back into the hole.