Kylian Mbappé officially godfather of Yuandudu, one of the baby pandas at Beauval zoo – archyde

Night has just fallen on the Beauval zoo (Loir-et-Cher), silencing the growls of wild animals and the howls of monkeys. As if the 35,000 animals in the park had suddenly gone into hibernation, a great silence invaded the alleys. But in the area reserved for giant pandas, park officers and gendarmes present in large numbers under the Chinese porch and the red and gold lanterns. In the twilight, the silhouette of Kylian Mbappé appears. Wrapped up in a big gray down jacket to protect himself from the stinging cold that fell at the same time as the day, the star of PSG enters the enclosure reserved for ursids.

Surrounded by a areopagus of local elected officials, under the watchful eye of the cameras of about sixty journalists, the footballer took his place alongside the Chinese diving champion Zhang Jiaqi. Both have accepted to be the godfathers of the pandas twins born this summer at the zoo-park.

VIDEO. Huanlili and Yuandudu, pandas from Beauval Zoo, baptized in the presence of Kylian Mbappé

And if they are there this Thursday at the end of the day, it is to reveal the name chosen by the French public to designate the babies, provisionally baptized Little snow and Cotton flower. When the two furballs arrive in front of the two sportsmen in a sort of wooden and plexiglass box, “oh” of admiration resound among the Chinese journalists present in large numbers at this “naming ceremony”.

Without further ado, Kylian Mbappé reveals the name of his goddaughter who will now have to be called Yuandudu while his sister will respond to the diminutive of Huanlili. A learned mixture with the name of their parents Yuan Zi and Huan Huan. If they did not weigh more than 150 g at birth, the two females now weigh more than 5 kg. But they will weigh 100 in adulthood!

In front of Kylian Mbappé who looks at them, they nibble, snuggle up against each other in a beginning of complicity. On December 11, they will finally be presented to the public in the company of their mother. A few minutes later, in an amphitheater filled with handpicked guests, the PSG star and the young Chinese champion go there for their speech. Without note, Kylian Mbappé, very applauded, confides his “great honor to be here”.

“You should never lose your child’s soul and tonight I was amazed,” says the world champion. “I am fortunate to be the godfather of one of these two wonders”, continues this animal enthusiast, who was fond of animal documentaries in his childhood and now wishes to recall the importance in his eyes of “protecting this animal. endangered breed ”.

Yuandudu and Huanlili will be officially presented to the public on December 11th. LP / Jean-Baptiste Quentin

This is because there are currently only 1,800 animals of this species in the wild on the planet and Beauval’s babies are only the second and third pandas born in captivity on French soil. Only 23 zoos in the world have pandas outside of China. The CEO of Beauval Park, Rodolphe Delord, measures his privilege to be able to associate the name of a world football star like Kylian Mbappé with one of the twins born in his zoo.

The first baby panda born here had for godmother Brigitte Macron. “We are going to develop a partnership with the Kylian foundation to enable children to become ambassadors for animal conservation in their turn,” announces the park owner.

Returned to their mother, Yuandudu and Huanlili will remain with them for a few more months before being repatriated to China around the age of four to be able to procreate. At Beauval Zoo, all you have to do is pronounce Kylian Mbappé’s name and talk about baby pandas to see the children’s eyes light up.

Like Léon, ten years old, who wants to become a trainer and is delighted to have been able to see Beauval (even if it was only through interposed screens, via the cameras permanently connected to the small park where the binoculars) “those two big furballs that you can’t see elsewhere” in France. “Here, the pandas are stars, confirms his mother Virginie. And it’s normal that they chose a star like Mbappé to become the godfather of one of the twins. It is a great brand image for the preservation of this species ”.

“Because of his sporting aura, Kylian Mbappé was undoubtedly the best person to make young people aware of the protection of animals” greets Maryline, who came from Yonne to see the “stuffed animals” in life size. Alaric, no taller than three apples, could not have dreamed of a better pandas ambassador than “Kylian” who is his “favorite footballer”. “Mbappé is a model for children, confirms his dad Olivier. Football is a very popular sport, the animal cause too: it is normal that the two end up joining. “

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