Lesser or Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) which is closely associated with montane forests with dense bamboo-thicket, is found in Sikkim, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh.
The IUCN has categorized Red Panda as ‘Endangered’ and as per their Red List assessment of 2015, the population of the species is ‘decreasing'.
The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body and thick russet fur. Almost 50% of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas.
The name panda is said to come from the Nepali word ‘ponya,’ which means bamboo or plant eating animal.
HABITATS-Temperate forests
Threats:
- Red Panda's diet is 98% bamboo. These plants show mass flowering followed by die off. Red Pandas will not readily find new feeding grounds in a highly fragmented landscape and are exposed to other threats when crossing unsuitable habitat.
- Hunting for trade.
- Predation by feral dogs.
- Occasional hunting and poaching for its meat, and for use in medicines, and as a pet.
- Habitat degradation due to excessive extraction of fuel wood.
It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, India.
It is included in the GoI’s Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species in 2018.
It is also included in the Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making international trade in this species illegal.
Sources-
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/red-panda
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/132835/0
Disclaimer- all the facts or information is true on date of creation/updating. Please verify with the various sources(by visiting links provided in article).
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