IThey are one of the symbolic attractions of the animal park. The two giant pandas, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, will leave Beauval ZooParc on Tuesday, November 25, to return to China, their homeland. They will join the Chengdu Conservation Center.
The decision was taken “after consultation with Chinese authorities” as part of an international program for the conservation, research and reproduction of giant pandas.
Both animals were 17 years old, entering old age for their species. The female Huan Huan “is suffering from mild kidney problems, which are currently not serious, a disease that is quite common among carnivores of this age,” explained the director of the park located in Loir-et-Cher, Rodolphe Delord, last September. The giant panda is a rare species that can weigh between 75 and 160 kilograms, explains the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Precise operation
However, before their departure, a final public snack organized by keepers, zoo managers and educational facilitators was held this Sunday, November 23 at 15.00. These animals contribute to the success of the park, the only place in France to welcome these mammals and recording 2 million visitors by 2023. “These two pandas have been with us for 13 years, we have experienced incredible things with them,” recalls Rodolphe Delord.
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Kangaroo today
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Since October 26, the pandas have been placed in quarantine to respect health protocols, but they remain visible to visitors through windows. A specially equipped truck will leave the zoo at 5am on Tuesday to head to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, the Zoo’s official website details.
Pandas will not be visible through the trucks, for safety and animal welfare reasons. However, this departure does not mean the end of the presence of giant pandas at Beauval Zoo. Yuandudu and Huanlili’s twin daughters, born in 2021, will stay until at least 2027.
