This is the hilarious moment a rare brown panda stands underneath a tree with his mouth open waiting for an apple to fall in.

Phone footage captured at the zoo shows the male panda, named Qizai, standing upright on its hind legs next to a small tree in its enclosure in Xi'an in Shaanxi, China, on March 12.

Seemingly used to food always being handed to him, he stood under a tiny branch that his keepers had stuck a juicy apple on.

Spectators kept laughing as Qizairepeatedly opened his mouth, waiting for the fruit to fall in.

After a while, he grew impatient and decided to climb the few extra inches that separated him from his prize, then slowly walked away with the apple.

His keepers jokingly branded him a 'genius'.

The brown panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis), also known as the Qinling panda or Qinlinggiant panda, is a rare subspecies of the giant panda found in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi.

Unlike the typical black and white fur of giant pandas, the brown panda has a unique brown and tan coat, making it distinct and visually triking.

This subspecies is smaller in size compared to other giant pandas and has slightly different skull characteristics.

The brown panda's habitat is highly fragmented and threatened by human activities such as deforestation and habitat destruction, making it one of the most endangered panda populations in the world.