Baby panda born in France celebrates 1st month anniversary

Female panda Huan Huan holds her cub inside her enclosure at The Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, central France.

 

Officials at a French zoo say a baby panda born last month can now drink without a feeding bottle and weighs more than one kilogram.

Mother Huan Huan gave birth to twins at Beauval Zoo south of Paris on August 4, 2017, the first-ever panda birth in France but one of the babies died soon after childbirth.

Fast facts

• The surviving male cub weighed 33.5 centimeters
• He has black patches on his body
• He weighs 1150 grams, compared to 142 grams at birth

Nine-year-old Huan Huan and her male partner Yuan Zi arrived at Beauval zoo in January 2012 on a 10-year loan from China after intense, high-level negotiations between Paris and Beijing.

A screen capture shows the first feeding of the second panda cub in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, central France, on August 5, 2017. French zoo officials were doubly delighted on August 1 on learning that their pregnant panda is expecting not one but two cubs at the weekend. A final scan has revealed that Huan Huan, who is on loan to Beauval zoo in central France from China with her male partner Yuan Zi, is expecting twins on August 4 or 5. / AFP PHOTO / GUILLAUME SOUVANT

Huan Huan (meaning "happy") and Yuan Zi ("chubby") are the only giant pandas living in France. Breeding pandas is notoriously difficult and this is the first time a cub has been born in France.

Huan Huan means "happy" and Yuan Zi means "chubby"

Photos released Monday by the zoo show the mother cuddling the surviving male cub, which measures 33.5 centimeters (13 inches) and now features black patches.

The cub, which has not been named, weighs 1150 grams, compared to 142 grams when he was born.

Interesting facts

• This was the first-ever panda birth in France
• The mother is called Huan Huan and her male partner Yuan Zi
• Though twins were born, one of the babies died soon after childbirth

French first lady Brigitte Macron is the baby panda’s godmother.

FILE PHOTO: Yuan Zi (R), a male giant panda and Huan Huan, a female giant panda, relax inside their enclosure at the ZooParc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, central France, January 17, 2012. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo