On May 13, 2013, we spotted an adult red panda after a half hour trek in red panda trail at Gupche area. Hanging over the branch of a fir tree about 60 feet tall, I, Subba Lama (local guide) and my porter (Sahinla Tamang) witnessed this beautiful creature.
Earlier that day, when we started our journey to reach red panda monitoring training site at Gupche, we were contemplating a sighting. Our eyes were wide open, scanning the forest constantly. [break]
Bad luck, no red panda for the day! We were already late when we reached the training site, so we had a hasty lunch.
WWF Nepal/Kamal Thapa
After lunch we started the upward climb from 3,000 m in the dense forest of fir and bamboo. Subba seriously told us how karma plays big role in red panda spotting. As we roamed deep inside the forest, we observed numerous fresh pellets (faeces) of red panda, but no animal.
I was hopeful. Could this be my luck day? After half an hour walk at an elevation of 3,560 m, we finally saw scratch marks of red panda at the bottom of a fir tree with some fresh pellets. Then Subba halted and asked me to observe carefully on top of the fir tree. My heart was racing and I looked up. There it was, a vibrant orange tail hanging over the branches. I felt that my good karma has paid off. I smiled and quickly checked the time. It was 11 am. The team was ecstatic. We decided to climb up and take a few photographs. Fifteen meters above the ground, we were able to take enough shots of that red panda.
In the meantime, the red panda showed no sign of stress or anxiety, it just stayed there. The panda had already sensed our presence. Around 5 minutes later, the red panda climbed up onto another branch where it snoozed for an hour. This was a lifetime opportunity for me to study this elusive and rare species up-close. My binocular and my Nikon 50x camera were in full use. This moment was incredible. I was amazed to see this panda behaving normally in human presence. I believe the red panda was convinced that the tall fir tree is a secure home, far from human reach. After an hour’s sleep, the red panda woke up and again went back to sleep on another branch.
Until 2:30 pm, we patiently followed the red panda’s movement. Then we bid farewell to it and got back to our campsite. We shared our exciting encounter with all other participants who had just got back from routine monitoring trip in the forest. When they saw the red panda’s photographs in my camera, everybody became excited and headed directly towards the location. Unbelievable, the red panda was still there! That evening we celebrated with local wine. I could clearly see people’s motivation in red panda monitoring and conservation after this encounter.
Our sighting of red panda was rare, but not unexpected. It was possible because late Dr Pralad Yonzon had left us precise clues of red panda behavior after two years of in-depth study on red panda ecology. In 1987, he searched for the red panda in Langtang Valley (now Langtang National Park) to carry out in-depth study on its biology and ecology for the fulfillment of his doctorate dissertation.
He started his search along the Langtang River, but did not get any sign of red panda even after six months of intense exploration. Irritated with the result, he contemplated changing his study topic for his doctorate thesis. Luckily, he met Subba Lama, an experienced local hunter and resident of Sing Gompa. Together they went to Cholangpati area to confirm red panda presence in Langtang area.
Fortunately, that day they found red panda’s fecal matter in the Gupche area of Cholangpati. After that day, Dr Yonzon spent two years investigating red panda biology and ecology using VHF radio telemetry. His pioneering efforts generated valuable information, which is now the benchmark for red panda’s biology and ecology study in Nepal and elsewhere. It was this information that made it possible for us to sight red panda in such a short time rather than luck or karma!
Beyond the research work on red panda, Dr Yonzon had initiated red panda conservation in the 90s. He declared red panda conservation area for Cholangpati, formed herder group for red panda conservation, and established cooperative of herder group for the same. With this, government and non-governmental organizations have been implementing conservation measures for red panda, including listing it as a protected animal. However, no major breakthrough has occurred in red panda conservation in Nepal despite conservation efforts.
Red panda Ailurus fulgens is one of the poorly known small-bodied mammalian carnivores adapted to herbivore diet. Red panda conservation carries a special merit from global biodiversity conservation perspectives. It is believed that the population of red panda is dramatically decreasing due to inappropriate implementation of conservation strategy.
Among many other threats, habitat loss, inbreeding, and high mortality rate are the major threats to the survival of this species. To combat these threats, adequate and appropriate funds and strategy are required. Local people who reside in red panda’s vicinity should be engaged in the conservation of this species. Without their full participation, its long-term survival is impossible.
WWF Nepal-USAID-Hariyo Ban Program with the partnership of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and Department of Forests (DoF) has initiated community-based red panda conservation and monitoring in Langtang recently.
Locals are being capacitated as Citizen Scientists, where they undergo intensive field-based training. This field trip was part of red panda conservation initiative, and the primary aim was to monitor the progress of on-going training of community-based red panda monitoring techniques. Since red panda inhabits inaccessible terrain, and remote High Mountain, mobilizing local people can guarantee its long-term conservation.
In order to establish sustainable community-based red panda monitoring system, WWF Nepal has formed a herder cooperative with initial fund support of NRs. 100,000. WWF Nepal has also generated endowment fund NRs. 1,000,000 for Surya Kunda Buffer Zone Committee for red panda monitoring. And during this field trip, 11 members of community-based Anti-poaching Operation Units were trained and are now entitled as Citizen Scientists.
Necessary equipment and field gear were provided to those trainees. Twelve permanent red panda monitoring transects were established. I believe this initial effort will be instrumental in successful conservation of this fascinating species in Langtang and elsewhere in the Himalayas.
The author is Senior Research Officer at WWF Nepal
kamal.thapa@wwfnepal.org
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