Panda born in France now a month old, drinks without bottle

PARIS – Officials at a French zoo say a baby panda born last month can now drink without a feeding bottle and weighs more than one kilogram (2.2 pounds).

Mother Huan Huan gave birth to twins at Beauval Zoo south of Paris, the first-ever panda birth in France, but one of the babies died soon after birth.

Photos released Monday by the zoo show the mother cuddling the surviving male cub, which measures 33.5 centimetres (13 inches) and now features black patches. The cub, which hasn’t been named, now weighs 1150 grams, compared to 142 grams when he was born.

Huan Huan was artificially inseminated from partner Yuan Zi, both of whom are at Beauval on a 10-year loan from China.

French first lady Brigitte Macron is the baby panda’s godmother.