As we all know today in this world, the number of endangered species is increasing day

by day. So, in order to protect them we are here to spread awareness about them. Good
morning judges, teachers and my dear friends. Today, I, Mayank Vachher and my team
mate Yudhvier Malik would like to inform about the endangered specie of the red panda.

• The scientific name of this rare and beautiful species is Ailurus fulgens which
literally means ‘fire-colored cat’.
• Its striking red fur is thought to help it blend in with the reddish-brown moss that
grows on the branches of the trees in which it lives.
• Like its relative, the giant panda, the red panda has evolved to feed almost exclusively
on bamboo.
• Individuals must spend a great deal of time eating just to maintain their bodyweight –
female red pandas have been known to eat up to 200,000 bamboo leaves in a single
day!
Evolutionary Distinctiveness
• The species appears to have evolved in Pakistan and Western Europe.
• The red panda is taxonomically very difficult to classify.
• It was originally placed in the raccoon family, Procyonidae, because of similarities in
dentition, skull, ringed tail, and other morphological characteristics.
• Other researchers have argued that it should be placed in the bear family, Ursidae,
along with the giant panda, because of similarities in DNA.
• More recently, it has been proposed that the red panda be placed in its own family,
the Ailuridae.
Distribution
• Restricted to isolated mountain ranges in western China (Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet
provinces) and the Himalayan Mountain chain in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and
Myanmar.
• The Brahmaputra River at the eastern end of the Himalayas separates the two
subspecies.
• A. f. fulgens is found to the west in Nepal, northeastern India, Bhutan and China and
A. f. styani to the east in China.
Threats
The Red Panda is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and
inbreeding depression (Wei et al. 1998). Habitat loss is considered to be the biggest
threat to this species, while poaching is the next biggest threat in the Indian portion
of its range and some localized areas (Choudhury 2001), whereas poaching and
hunting pose a greater threat in areas of China and Myanmar, particularly in
Hkakaborazi and adjacent areas. The ultimate cause of these threats to the red
panda is the high growth rate in human populations within the species' range and in
surrounding nearby areas (Choudhury 2001). The growth rate of the local human
population has almost doubled between 1971 and 1991, causing increased pressure
on land for both housing and farming, as well as increased demand for firewood
(Choudhury 2001).

The major causes of habitat loss are commercial logging, demand for firewood
(especially in the cold Himalaya), clearing for habitation and farming, jhum (slash-
and-burn shifting cultivation) by hill tribes, grazing of domestic stock, monoculture
forest plantation, and various developmental activities (Choudhury 2001). Due to
human encroachment in suitable forest habitat and the unusual biology of bamboos,
the red panda may be near extinction in the western part of its range, especially in
Nepal (Roberts and Gittleman 1984). Both legal and illegal felling of old-growth trees
is occurring throughout its range in India, and in the Khast Hills of Meghalaya some
of the best habitat is privately owned, potentially making conservation efforts difficult
(Choudhury 2001).

Deforestation, which causes fragmentation, is the fundamental threat to this species

long-term survival (Wei et al. 1999 ). Between 1980 and 1995 the number of tourists
visiting Sikkim annually rose from 1000 to 100,000 (Mahapatra 1998), causing
increased pressure on this species due to accelerating habitat loss for firewood (for
cooking and heating) (Choudhury 2001). Similar threats are occurring in the Singalila
area of Darjeeling and in Nepal (Choudhury 2001). Habitat is effectively stable in
northernmost Myanmar (Renner et al. 2007), but elsewhere in Kachin where the
panda might occur there are indications of rapid habitat degradation through
deforestation in this area (B.F. King pers. comm. 1998, cited in Collar et al. 2001).

Road construction in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh over the past two decades has
led to large-scale felling of trees and erosion, and sometimes landslides, also
opening up formerly inaccessible areas for both legal and illegal logging (Choudhury
2001). Increased fragmentation of habitat leads to inbreeding and loss of genetic
variation, which may significantly impact localized populations, as well as possible
increased pressure from hunting (Choudhury 2001).

Hunting does not appear to be as serious a threat to the Red Panda as habitat loss,
since hunters do not appear to deliberately hunt this species, but rather is shot
opportunistically and caught accidentally in snares during hunting for wild pig, deer,
goat-antelopes (serow, goral, and takin) and primates (Choudhury 2001). In Bhutan,
the red panda is hunted for making fur caps or hats (Yonten, 2004). In China, Red
Panda pelts can be found in many local markets (Glatson 1994). Wei et al (1998)
report data which indicate that hunting and poaching pressures are severe in China,
especially to a declining population, which has led to increased declines, and
extinctions in some areas. Poaching is considered one of the most serious threats in
China (Wang pers. comm.).

Cub mortality of the species is high in areas surrounding cattle grazing activities,
estimated at up to 74% (Yonzon pers. comm.).

Conservation
The Red Panda is covered under CITES Appendix I (Duckworth et al. 1999), and
Schedule I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, the highest protection
possible for a species in India (Choudhury 2001). It is also legally protected in
Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal (Glatston 1994).

There are 20 protected areas in India that have known or possible populations of this
species, yet these protected areas cover only about one-third of the total potential
habitat for this species (Choudhury 2001). Protection of this species is adequate in
the protected areas of India, due more to their remoteness and difficulty of terrain,
rather than actual enforcement of laws (Choudhury 2001). Outside of India, China
has 35 protected areas (Wei et al. 1998), Nepal has eight, and Bhutan has five that
support known or reported populations of this species (Choudhury 2001).

In our opinion we would like to propose the following conservation recommendations

which have been provided by Mr. A. Choudhury of IUCN:
expansion and strengthening of the protected area network, prevention of illegal
felling, control of jhum cultivation and overgrazing, regulation of tourism, public
awareness of threatened status of this species, and enforcement of existing legal
protections.