The Hindu : Red pandas bred in captivity to be released into habitat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 16, 2003

Other States

Other States - New Delhi

Red pandas bred in captivity to be released into habitat

By Aarti Dhar

NEW DELHI Nov. 15. The stage is set for the release of "conservation-bred" red pandas, an endangered species, into its natural habitat in the Himalayan forests next week. Two female red pandas that will be released into the Sangalila National Park at Darjeeling were bred at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park under Project Red Panda funded by the Central Zoo Authority.

This is the second of its kind experiment being carried out by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to preserve endangered wild animals. The first was done with three crocodilian species - mugger, ghariyal and the salt-water crocodile - that were bred in captivity and released into various river systems and estuaries in the country.

The process also helps in coordinating efforts to revive the whole range of species in the park with the participation of park managers, scientists, local people and other Governmental agencies, he said.

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is found in the bamboo forests of the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, India, Burma and Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of western China. They prefer cool and moist weather with a mix of deciduous, coniferous, bamboo trees and rhododendrons. Their number showed a drastic fall in the region, prompting CZA authorities to take up the "conservation breeding" project. These are already protected in China and Nepal.

Project Red Panda was initiated in Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in the late 80s and since then 37 pandas have been born at the zoo.

The two four-year-old female red pandas were transferred from the Zoological Park to the intermediary release facility at Garibas, artificially created environment within the Singalila National Park in North Bengal on August 15. These two pandas would be radio-collared or fixed with solar-operated transmitters to monitor their activities, growth and reproduction.

Similarly, of the 37 pandas, two more will be released in the intermediary environment for acclimatisation, from the Darjeeling zoo.

The reintroduction of zoo-bred animals into the wild is a very difficult exercise, requiring long-term preparation with chances of survival of the animals quite low. Of the 140 experiments documented world wide, only 16 have been successful.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

Prestigious seats, close contests

Woman gets back house after 19 years

Red pandas bred in captivity to be released into habitat

BJP defeat is BSP's focus

State parties to use reserved symbols

No to Animal symbols

Historic wells become garbage dumps

Move to preserve digital heritage