In A First, Giant Panda In A French Zoo Gets Pregnant & The Officials Are Beaming With Joy!

Huan Huan, on loan to Beauval zoo in central France from China along with her male partner Yuan Zi, are expecting their first cub.

AFP

The female panda and her male partner Yuan Zi arrived in central France's Beauval zoo in January 2012.

"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 told AFP.

According to the AFP report breeding pandas, in captivity or in the wild, is notoriously difficult. The female panda is only on heat once a year for about 48 hours.

AFP

"It also gives us hope for the conservation of pandas, which in nature are in danger of extinction," said officials

There are about 2,000 pandas in the world. They are classified as "vulnerable" species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).