Yuan Dudu

Basic Profile

Yuan Dudu (Chinese: 圆嘟嘟) is a female giant panda born on August 2, 2021, at ZooParc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, France. Her birth weight was 128 grams, rising to almost 6 kg by her hundredth day.

She is the younger twin of Huan Lili (欢黎黎). Their parents are Yuan Zi (园子, also known as 圆仔, studbook 736) and Huan Huan (欢欢, studbook 723), who arrived at Beauval Zoo in 2012. Her older brother is Yuan Meng (圆梦), the first giant panda born in France, and her paternal grandmother is Yuan Yuan (园园, studbook 561).

Naming (November 18, 2021)

Her name was revealed at the twins’ hundredth-day naming ceremony: “圆” (Yuan) comes from her father Yuan Zi, and “嘟嘟” (Du Du) stands for Chengdu (成都), her parents’ home city in China. Combined with her sister’s name “欢黎黎” (Paris), the names symbolize China-France friendship.

Like her sister, she was named jointly by Chinese Olympic diving champion Zhang Jiaqi and French football star Kylian Mbappé, who served as the twins’ namers (命名人) and unveiled the names together at the “China Summit” panda house.

Appearance

The area around Yuan Dudu’s nose and mouth is dark, a feature she inherited from her mother Huan Huan.

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Life at Beauval Zoo

Public Debut

On December 11, 2021, Yuan Dudu and Huan Lili made their first public appearance in the zoo’s “China Summit” panda house.

1st Birthday (August 2, 2022)

By her first birthday Yuan Dudu weighed approximately 60 kg. She is described as quick, agile and endlessly curious, playing energetically and sleeping on tree branches after meals; during play with her sister she tends to come out on top.

3rd Birthday (August 2, 2024)

The twins turned three in 2024, an anniversary the zoo’s keepers expected to draw visitors to Beauval.

Care

More than ten keepers are involved in the family’s daily care, working alongside staff sent from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

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Current Status

Yuan Dudu and Huan Lili still live at Beauval Zoo. Their parents Yuan Zi and Huan Huan returned to China on November 25, 2025 after Huan Huan was found to have kidney impairment. On December 4, 2025, during French President Macron’s visit to China, a new cooperation agreement was signed extending the twins’ stay in France to the end of the January 2027 programme.

On October 9, 2026, Beauval Zoo announced on its official social media that the five-year-old twins will return to China in December 2026. Keepers have begun crate entry-and-exit training ahead of the long journey.