Red panda network

About This Project

Red pandas live in the forests of the Himalayan foothills, where they feed mainly on bamboo. They are considered Endangered (according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature): their population could be less than 2500 individuals in the wild!

They are threatened mainly by the degradation, fragmentation and disappearance of their habitat, caused by grazing, agriculture, logging, global warming and natural disasters such as cyclones and floods. But the red pandas are also victims of the traps posed for other species and of poaching (for their fur and other parts of their body, used in Traditional Medicine). Finally, they are more and more captured alive, then resold as “pets” …

The Red Panda Network works in Nepal, developing a conservation model involving local populations, so that they too can benefit from these actions.

This is how the “forest keepers” program was set up. These villagers, having received specific training, are employed by the RPN to monitor and protect the forest and the red pandas. Thus they become the ambassadors of this species, making their community aware of its protection. Finally, all, the caretakers like the other other villagers, are led to seek alternative and sustainable solutions in order to improve their living conditions while managing the forest sustainably …
Currently, more than 110 guards are employed by the RPN!

In addition, the RPN buys land to replant trees and transform them into reserves, conducts research programs to better understand the needs of red pandas …

Through our association Ecofaune, we support those actions since 2016.

More information here