DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

GS-III : Biodiversity & Environment Wildlife & Fauna

13 July, 2022
5 Min Read

Red Panda

RED PANDA

An ambitious program has been started by the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan zoological park to release 20 Red Pandas in about five years to the forest.

About Red Panda

In the world, there are only two different panda species the Giant pandas and the Red pandas.
The red panda is the state animal of Sikkim.
India is the home to both subspecies of Panda which is the Himalayan red panda and the Chinese red panda, both found in the forest of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and the northern mountains of Myanmar and Southern China.
Red pandas are shy, solitary, and arboreal animals and are considered an indicator of ecological change.
The number of red pandas has been declining in the wild, even in the Singalia and Neora valley National Parks, the two protected areas where the endangered mammal is found in the wild in West Bengal.

Red panda

IUCN: Endangered
CITES: Appendix 1
Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule 1

Giant panda

IUCN: VULNERABLE
CITES: APPENDIX 1

PROGRAMME FOR RED PANDA

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park has started an ambitious initiative to release 20 of these furry mammals in about five years to the forests.
The Padmaja Naidu park in Darjeeling is one of the high-altitude zoos in the country which has been quite successful in captive breeding of these furry mammals.
The Pandas will be released in the Singalila National Park, the highest protected area which is situated in West Bengal.

About Singalila National Park

It is located at Singalila Ridge in the Darjeeling district. It is the highest altitude park in West Bengal. It was initially a wildlife Sanctuary and later converted into a National Park in 1992.

Other national parks of West Bengal are as follows:

Jalda Para National Park
Neora Valley National Park
Sundarbans National Park
Gorumara National Park
Buxa National Park and Tiger Reserve

India’s conservation effort for red panda

Securing the red panda habitat

WWF-India works with local communities to reduce their dependence on fuelwood by introducing them to innovative techniques to meet their energy demands. In Sikkim, more than 200 individuals have been trained in manufacturing bio-briquettes.

Garnering local support

Local communities are involved in alternate livelihood activities that draw benefits for them, which also support the conservation initiatives.

In Arunachal Pradesh, community-based tourism enables the locals to earn additional income from the tourists coming to see red pandas.

Mitigating threats to red panda populations

Working with local communities to reduce forest dependence and involving them in conservation efforts addresses the threat of habitat degradation and fragmentation

Source: Down To Earth

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