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Around a hundred visitors came to see the adult pandas at Beauval zoo for the last time, before they return to China on Tuesday, November 25. The premature departure of the pair, which can be explained by the female panda’s sick health condition.
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Giant panda, eagerly awaited. Every diner, with cell phone in hand, observed Yuan Zi devouring his last snack in public, not without emotion. “We’re a little sad, because it’s true we won’t see them again. When I saw them arrive in 2012, they were the first, so it’s true that it always means something”I’m a visitor. “It’s very touching of course that they are leaving. And at the same time, we are also happy for them, being able to continue in their home country”commented one young woman in turn.
To avoid missing out, some people drive more than three hours. “We knew they would leave and we wouldn’t see them again, so we told ourselves we had to come. I saw them for the first time and I will see them for the last time”clearly a woman.
For caregivers too, this moment is very touching. They took care of Huan Huan and Yuan Zi every day. “Seeing him eating like that, I told myself that I really have to engrave this image in my memory, because in just a few days, he won’t be here anymore. He will be gone, but he will always be with us, because we will never forget him.”said Antoine Blandin, animal keeper.
After the departure of their parents, Huanlili and Yuandudu, twins born in Beauval four years ago, are expected to stay in Loir-et-Cher until at least 2027.
