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Though hunters lose interest in Red Panda, traps still snare endangered mammal
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- The iconic and endangered Red Panda (ailurus fulgens) has fewer hunters because of younger generation of people across its Himalayan habitat are losing interest in animal products, a new study by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC has found.
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- Title of the report: Assessment of illegal trade-related threats to Red Panda in India and selected neighbouring range countries
- Findings in the Study and about Red Panda:
(1) The report looked at the 10-year period from July 2010 to June 2019, and analysed poaching and illegal trade of the species.
(2) Other than seizures, the researchers carried out market surveys, surveys of e-commerce websites and village level surveys where they spoke to hundreds of people in Red Panda habitat (only in India ) to look into poaching.
(3) The reddish-brown arboreal mammal, not closely related to the iconic black-and-white giant panda, is falling to traps laid for other animals such as the musk deer and wild pigs.
(4) It's survival is crucial for eastern & north-eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests & eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests.
(5) The only living member of the genus Ailurus, Red Panda is listed as ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
(6) The animal has been hunted for meat and fur besides illegal capture for the pet trade.
(7) An estimated 14,500 individuals are left in the wild across Nepal, Bhutan, India, China and Myanmar.
(8) In India, the species is recorded in northern West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
(9) During the study the researchers and authors found neither India nor Bhutan had reported any incidences of poaching or illegal trade in Red Pandas.
(10) But in Nepal a total of 13 seizure records were reported between 2016 and 2019, accounting for a total of 29 pelts. All except two took place in Kathmandu.
- Significance of the Study:
(1) Because Red Panda is an iconic species and classified as Endangered under the IUCN Red List.
(2) Because a large part of its habitat is restricted to inaccessible higher reaches of the Eastern Himalayas.
(3) A recent study has pointed out that the Red Panda is not one species but two based on the DNA evidence.
Sources
The Hindu