Paris, Aug 2 (EFE) – Two female giant panda cubs, a protected species from China with difficulties reproducing, were born early Monday at the Beauval zoo park in France, according to the zoo.
Huan Huan, the female panda, gave birth to two cubs at around 1:00 am on Monday. The babies weighed 149 and 129 grams at birth and will weigh up to 10 kilos in a few months.
The female had mated with the male panda Yuan Zi last March, and Huan Huan was artificially inseminated to increase the chances of fertilization.
Pandas are only fertile for up to 48 hours per year.
The cubs are Huan Huan’s second and third baby to be born at the zoo. In 2017, she gave birth to Yuan Meng, who is about to turn 4 years old.
Huan Huan and Yuan Zi were lent to France from China in 2012 following the visit to the country of Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of France.
Beijing, which considers pandas a national symbol, uses the animals in their diplomacy by lending them to countries with whom they hold satisfactory bilateral relations. The newborns will be sent to China in three to four years.
Text and images courtesy of EFE
