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Huan Huan and Yuan Zi Depart Paris on 12-Hour Flight Back to China

The early return follows a kidney disease diagnosis requiring specialized care in Chengdu.

FILE - Viewed through a glass panel, male panda Yuan Zi, right, and female Panda Huan Huan, eat bamboo at the Zoo Parc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, central France, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
More than 200 well-wishers braved a cold and rainy Sunday to say farewell
Yuan Zi and his partner are to retire in China
Huan Dudu was one of three siblings to be born in France

Overview

  • The 17-year-old pair departed Charles de Gaulle after a short quarantine and police escort in custom travel crates.
  • Beauval said they are on a veterinary‑monitored, climate‑controlled flight to the Chengdu Research Base, where they were born.
  • The move ends their loan early, which had been scheduled to run through January 2027.
  • During 13 years in France they produced three cubs, including 2017-born Yuan Meng and 2021 twin females.
  • Zoo officials say the twins will remain at Beauval for now, and a Chinese embassy official said new pandas will arrive in the future.