SAINT CHER: French zoo officials were bursting with joy on Wednesday at the news their female panda is pregnant — a first for France.

A scan by zoo vets on Wednesday revealed that Huan Huan, on loan to Beauval zoo in central France from China along with her male partner Yuan Zi, is expecting her first cub.

“It’s exceptional. We just exploded in joy as we’ve been waiting such a long time for this moment,” the zoo’s communications director Delphine Delord said.

“It also gives us hope for the conservation of pandas, which in nature are in danger of extinction.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2017