During Emmanuel Macron’s official trip to China from April 5 to 8, 2023, the ZooParc de Beauval (Loir-et-Cher) was able to formalize the extension of the loan of Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, the park’s two historic pandas, until in 2027. Their little one, Yuan Meng, will leave within the next few months.
Beauval Zoo (Loir-et-Cher) is the only park in France and one of the few in Europe where you can admire pandas. On the occasion of Emmanuel Macron’s state trip to China from April 5 to 8, 2023, the CEO of the park Rodolphe Delord, who was one of the 80 personalities of the delegation, obtained confirmation that the loan from Huan Huan and Yuan Zi was going to be extended until 2027.
Yuan Meng, their little one born on August 4, 2017, will be repatriated to China to reproduce with other pandas.
Huanlili and Yuandudu will leave for China in 2025
For the twins Huanlili and Yuandudu, born on August 2, 2021, it was decided that they would stay in the park until 2025.
All of this could therefore be formalized during this trip. “It was done on the sidelines of the visit with the Chinese association of zoos, with the panda base in Chengdu where our pandas were born,”
Towards a departure party?
Arrived on January 15, 2012, in France, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi were initially supposed to stay ten years in the zoo. But the Covid-19 pandemic had not allowed their return. However, their lease had not been officially extended.
“I was not worried because it was already practically granted before going there,” said Rodolphe Delord, who highlighted the current good relations between France and China. At the same time, the panda has since represented the late 1940s as the symbol of the country’s international cooperation.
The date on which Yuan Meng will leave has yet to be determined. The CEO of ZooParc de Beauval mentioned to France Bleu Touraine a departure “within a few months.” “We will have the date within two weeks,” he assured. A departure party could soon be organized at the park in the presence, perhaps, of Brigitte Macron, the godmother of the panda.
