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Recently, Singalila National Park launched programme that aims to release about 20 red pandas in a period of five years
About Red Pandas
- Scientific Name : Ailurus fulgens
- Red Panda is largely vegetarian, eating chiefly young leaves and shoots of bamboo.
- It also takes fruit, roots, succulent grasses, acorns, lichens, birds’ eggs and insects
- Description
- The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body and thick russet fur.
- The belly and limbs are black, and there are white markings on the side of the head and above its small eyes.
- They are shy, solitary and arboreal animals and considered an indicator species for ecological change.
- Habitat
- Red pandas live in high-altitude forests of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and China.
- They are mainly arboreal species, often living close to water sources and in densely bamboo covered areas.
- Almost 50% of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas.
- Protection Status
- Red pandas are currently listed as endangered species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and their numbers are believed to be less than 10,000 individuals in the wild.
- However, the exact figure remains unknown.
- Red pandas are currently listed as endangered species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and their numbers are believed to be less than 10,000 individuals in the wild.
Source:TH
