Two pandas at a zoo in central France returned to China on Tuesday, drawing hundreds of visitors for a final goodbye.

Huan Huan and her partner Yuan Zi arrived at the Beauval Zoo in 2012. The two pandas, both now 17, were meant to stay in France until January 2027. 

However, with Huan Huan having been diagnosed with kidney failure, they will live out their retirement at the Chengdu panda sanctuary – leaving behind some devoted fans.

More than 200 well-wishers braved a cold and rainy Sunday to say "bon voyage", including one couple dressed head-to-toe in panda-themed gear, who say they have visited the bears "more than a thousand times" since their arrival in 2012.

Electronics technician Patrice Colombel and his wife Veronique, an administrative assistant at a secondary school, said they would not have missed the chance to see them off.

"They are the first pandas we have ever known. We wanted to be there to say goodbye to them," said the couple, visiting from the southwest city of Bordeaux.

'Engraved in our hearts'

The pair produced three cubs while in France – the first pandas to do so in the country – and became star attractions at the Beauval zoo in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, which welcomed some two million visitors in 2023.

The decision to send them back to China came after Huan Huan was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease – a common condition in bears around her age, according to zoo director Rodolphe Delord.

The move came with "a twinge of sadness", Delord said.

But the twins born in 2021 are expected to remain at Beauval for now, said Delord, adding he hopes to extend the zoo's partnership with China beyond 2027.

The eldest of the offspring, Yuan Meng, left France for his ancestral China in 2023.

For panda keeper Delphine Pouvreau, their departure will be "very hard" for the caretakers, who have forged a strong bond with the bears.

"We experienced the first birth of a baby panda in France here," she said. "This memory will remain engraved in our hearts."

More pandas to follow

The giant panda was downgraded last year from "endangered" to "vulnerable" on the global list of at-risk species. Only about 20 zoos outside China have pandas.

Huan Huan and Yuan Zi were escorted to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport under heavy police protection for their flight on Tuesday morning.

The pair were loaded onto a plane at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, each in their own box dotted with ventilation holes, with the words "Bon voyage" inscribed on the side.

Before they departed, a Chinese embassy official promised new bears would soon be dispatched to make up for the popular pair leaving.

"Rest assured, French friends, new giant pandas will arrive in the future," said Chinese embassy official Chen Dong.