Pandamania: Twin cubs in French zoo take 1st steps in public

PARIS – First, a dependable crawl. Then a abbreviated clumsy descent crossed the slick chromatic level astatine their location astatine the Beauval Zoo adjacent Paris. Then yet the large amusement arsenic the duplicate elephantine panda cubs took their archetypal steps successful nationalist connected Saturday.

The pistillate twins were calved successful August. Their mother, Huan Huan, and father, Yuan Zi, are astatine the Beauval Zoo, southbound of Paris, connected a 10-year indebtedness from China aimed astatine highlighting bully ties with France. The duplicate cubs, named Huanlili and Yuandudu, are their 2nd and 3rd cubs aft the archetypal panda ever calved successful France, Yuan Meng, successful 2017.

In a video, released by the zoo connected Saturday, the duplicate cubs are seen clumsily making their mode astir the territory. At immoderate constituent some effort to ascent adjacent rocks arsenic a caretaker looks connected and films them with a smartphone.

The cubs volition walk a fewer years successful France earlier being sent to China.

France’s shot prima Kylian Mbappe and the Chinese Olympic champion successful diving, Zhang Jiaqi, are the twins’ godparents aft the athletes announced the pistillate cubs’ names during a ceremonial successful November.

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There are astir 1,800 pandas surviving successful the chaotic successful China and astir 500 successful captivity worldwide.

China for decades talented affable nations with its unofficial nationalist mascot successful what was known arsenic “panda diplomacy.” More precocious the state has loaned pandas to zoos connected commercialized terms.

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