Red Panda Conservation in India (Project Red Panda)

The red panda is a carnivoran found in the forests of India, Nepal, Bhutan and the northern mountains of Myanmar and southern China.

It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because the wild population is estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and continues to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression.

It is not closely related to the giant panda - it is roughly the size of a domestic cat, though with a longer body.

It is arboreal and feeds mainly on bamboo, but also eats eggs, birds, and insects.

In India, About 5,000-6,000 red pandas are estimated to be present in Sikkim, Western Arunachal Pradesh (largest population in India), Darjeeling district of West Bengal and parts of Meghalaya.

It is also the state animal of Sikkim.

It is listed as Endangered in the IUCN red list of Threatened Species and under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

It is listed in CITES Appendix I.

It is protected in all range countries, and hunting is illegal.