RED PANDAS

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• Darjeeling zoo to release Red Panda in Singalila National Park.
• Darjeeling Zoo has initiated an ambitious programme to expand the wild red panda population.
  • The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling will release 20 Red Pandas into the forests.
• In recent decades, the number of red pandas has declined in the wild.
• Singalila and Neora Valley National Parks in West Bengal are the two protected areas where the red panda is found, even in these protected areas the panda population has declined.
  • According to recent studies, there are 38 of them in Singalila and 32 in Neora.
• The Padmaja Naidu Park is at a height of about 2,000 metres above sea level, is one of the high-altitude zoos in the country and has been quite successful in captive breeding of the Panda.
• Red pandas are categorised as an endangered species as per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• Red pandas are shy, solitary and arboreal animals and are regarded as an important indicator species for ecological change.

Singalila National Park

• Singalila National Park is located on the Singalila Ridge at an altitude of more than 7000 feet above sea level.
• It is in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
• It is bordered on the north by Sikkim and on the west by Nepal.
• The park is part of the Eastern Himalayas.
• The Singalila Ridge runs roughly North to South and it separates Himalayan West Bengal from the other Eastern Himalayan ranges.
• The two highest peaks of West Bengal: Sandakphu (3630 m) and Phalut (3600 m), are located inside the park.
• Rammam River and Srikhola River flow through the park.
• Flora - Thick bamboo, oak, magnolia, rhododendron and numerous orchids.
• Sandakphu is also known as the "mountain of poisonous plants" due to the presence of large numbers of Himalayan cobra lilies (Arisaema).
• Fauna - Red panda, leopard cat, barking deer, wild boar, pangolin, Himalayan black bear, leopard, clouded leopard, Tigers, Himalayan Vulture, scarlet minivet, parrotbills, golden-breasted fulvetta, etc.

Neora Valley National Parks

• Neora Valley National Park is in Kalimpong district, West Bengal.
• Place of Virgin natural forests, dense bamboo groves, the colourful canopy of Rhododendron trees, lush green valley.
• It has a unique ecosystem where tropical, sub-tropical, sub-temperate, and temperate vegetative systems are found.
• Flora - Mixed species like rhododendron, bamboo, oak, ferns, sal, etc. Numerous species of orchids.
• Fauna - Red panda, leopard, Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, Asian golden cat, wild boar, leopard cat, goral, barking deer, sambar deer, flying squirrel and tahr, clouded leopard, etc.

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