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Pandas Head for France
Two pandas from south-west China are flying to France today to spend ten years in a French zoo. The giant pandas, named Yuan Zai and Huan Huan - both aged 3, have been sent under a conservation and research agreement between China and France, which, according to the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Centre - the panda's original home - is aimed at saving the giant panda species from extinction.
The pair, who weigh 81 and 79 kg, will be staying in Beauval Zoo in central France where staff will be studying their behaviour and breeding patterns.
The panda's journey is expected to last 11 hours and they will arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport tonight. However, members of the public will have to wait until 11 February to see the pair as they will have to remain in quarantine till that time.
The panda's arrival in France follows the high profile arrival last month of a pair of pandas at Edinburgh zoo. According to the Chengdu Research centre, there are 300 pairs of pandas in captivity around the world and around 1,500 living wild, most in the Chinese province of Szechuan.
Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:40
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