The red panda, whose sex and age has not been identified yet, was fighting for life when spotted by the staff of district forest office at Churchure VDC-2 in Ramechhap district.[break]
The district forest staffs handed over the panda to the zoo soon after. The zoo officials said the panda would be kept for public display only after 2 weeks.
“We are going to keep it under special care for at least 2 more weeks. It was in a critical condition when spotted, but has been showing good symptoms after coming here,” said Dr Balkrishna Giri, chief of wildlife rescue unit at the zoo.
This is second red panda in the zoo. Earlier, there was a female red panda in captive earlier which died in 1989.
“We are taking its care like a baby. But we do not enter its room as we suspect that it fears the sight of humans. It must have been chased or tortured by people,” said Giri, adding that climate-wise Kathmandu is not bad for the panda.
Veterinary assistant Radhakrishna Gharti informed that the panda weighs 2.5 kilogram and is being fed apple and eggs along with antibiotics. “As its health improves, we will add variety to its diet. It is a new animal for us too. So we need to observe its behavior more carefully and treat it accordingly,” Gharti said.
Experts believe that the name panda comes from the Nepali word “poonya,” which means bamboo eater. The giant panda is sometime called the black and white cat-foot and the red panda is known as the red cat bear or lesser panda. Both giant and red panda are threatened by depleting habitat and deforestation. They can survive only in cold areas and thrive in Himalayas.
In Nepal, they are found in Langtang National Park, Annapurna Conservation Area, Sagarmatha National Park, Manaslu Conservation Area, Makalu Barun National Park and Kanchanjunga Conservation Area.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that over 75 percent of potential red panda habitat still falls outside protected areas.
A study has shown that there 40 red pandas in Gaurishankar conservation site alone, though, their number nationwide is not known.
Related story
Red Panda in school curriculum
