The Eastern Himalayas are home to diverse species of flora and fauna. The Red Panda or lesser panda is one of them. In the folkloric tradition of the Eastern Himalayas, these small, wild, cat-like creatures are seen as magical beings that guide and protect young children and lost travellers to find their way back home. In Buddhism and the ancient animist Bon faith, these animals symbolise prosperity and wellness. They are thought to bring peace and good fortune to families and communities.
However, the loss of available forest cover in their natural habitats in the Eastern Himalayas, illegal fur trading, and increased poaching have led to a decline in India's Red Panda population since the early 2000s. With an estimated wild population of fewer than 2,500 individuals, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Red Panda is considered an endangered mammal in India. The species is protected under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972).
In India, the Red Panda is distributed across Sikkim, Darjeeling Hills, and Arunachal Pradesh, at altitudes ranging between 900 to 13,000 feet in the Eastern Himalayas in India. The Red Panda Conservation Breeding Project at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, is one of the most successful breeding programmes for the species in its natural distribution zone in the country.
In the early 1990s, the planned conservation breeding programme was initiated in the Darjeeling Zoo (officially the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park) as part of the Global Captive Breeding Master Plan in response to international conservation efforts. At the time, the park had one male Red Panda named Basant and three female Red Pandas named Amita, Chanda, and Divya. All of these Red Pandas were of wild origin — meaning they were either captured or rescued from the wilderness and kept in the park. In April 1993, another male named Oscar was brought from Rotterdam Zoo to augment the existing Red Panda population in the Park. The first successful planned breeding occurred on June 20, 1994, when two cubs named Ekta and Friend were born to Basant and Amita. In 2013, 5 hectares of land in Topkedara block under Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary was handed over to Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park for the construction of the off-display Conservation Breeding Centre for Snow Leopards, Himalayan Tahrs, and Red Pandas.
In October 2024, the programme, was shortlisted as one of the three finalists for the 2024 WAZA Conservation & Environmental Sustainability Awards by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums based in Barcelona, Spain, for its tremendous success. Between 2022 and 2024, nine captive-bred red pandas (seven females and two males) were released into Singalila National Park (SNP) in West Bengal. Of the seven released females, three gave birth to five cubs in the wild.
In June 2024, the Park also became the first and only centre in the country to establish a genetic biobank facility to preserve the DNA and genetic material of endangered Himalayan species like Red Pandas, Snow Leopards, and Himalayan Tahrs.
Although out of display and closed to visitors, the Red Panda programme at the Topkedara Conservation Centre at the Darjeeling Zoo has proved to be a runaway success story for wildlife conservation efforts in India and proves that it is possible to save these vulnerable animals, particularly when armed with the right intent and adequate funding.
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