Stay connected with red panda conservation and our community-based work through live chats with red panda experts and conservation professionals.
Please see the schedule of live-chats below which will be streamed on Red Panda Network's (RPN) Facebook page.
Nepal’s first GPS collar study
Friday, September 11th, 2020
11 PM Pacific Time
The live chat will feature RPN’s Program Coordinator, Sonam Tashi Lama and Rotterdam Zoo's Zoological Manager - and Red Panda EAZA Ex-situ Program Coordinator - Janno Weerman, who were part of the amazing team who successfully equipped ten wild red pandas in Nepal with GPS-satellite collars!
This unprecedented initiative will provide critical baseline data on red pandas in the wild as well as valuable insight into landscape-level conservation efforts required to save them!
Learn more:
Ten Red Pandas Collared in Nepal For Groundbreaking Study - RPN press release
Red pandas tracked by satellite in conservation 'milestone' - BBC news
*Will also be live-streamed on the IRPD 2020 virtual event page.
Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda
Thursday, October 15th, 2020
9 AM Pacific Time
We will be speaking with Angela Glatston who joined the RPN Board of Directors in 2014 and is now chair. Angela is a trained zoologist with a strong interest in animal behavior, in particular the impact of environmental factors on reproduction and maternal behavior. She got her PhD on behavior and reproduction in mouse lemurs from University College London. Angela joined Rotterdam Zoo in the late 1970s as a research biologist later becoming curator of mammals (hoofstock and primates) and finally, conservation coordinator. She retired from the zoo in 2015 and is now working to establish a new zoo-based conservation organization. Throughout her time in Rotterdam Zoo, Angela was involved with red pandas; she has conducted research into their behavior, established an international studbook to register all zoo red pandas, led the red panda European Endangered Species Program (EEP) for many years and is currently chairing the Red Panda GSMP.
She has also worked with the IUCN-SSC (International Union for Conservation of Nature - Species Survival Commission) and CITES (International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species) on behalf of red pandas. She has also edited two books on red pandas: Red Panda Biology and Red Panda: The Biology and Conservation of the First Panda.
The Firefox Guardian
Thursday, November 5th, 2020
8 AM Pacific Time
Gunjan Menon who is the filmmaker behind the documentary, The Firefox Guardian, which "takes you on a mesmerizing journey through dense bamboo jungles in Nepal while exploring a special bond between the unique ‘Firefoxes’ and Menuka, a simple village girl who has made it her mission to protect these vulnerable creatures.” Join us for this chat with Gunjan as she tells about her incredible filmmaking experience and her exciting plans for the future.
Learn more:
Menuka Bhattarai: The Firefox Guardian
A Photo Within A Photo Within A Photo: The Cosmic Side of Red Panda Conservation
Transboundary red panda conservation
*Rescheduled to January 2021 - Stay tuned for date.
Dr. Sarala Khaling and Dr. Sunita Pradhan from ATREE — RPN's conservation partner in India — who aims to develop multi-functional landscapes in Northeast India that protect biodiversity, maintains ecosystem with integrity and promotes the well-being of its people. Dr. Sunita Pradhan's Ph.D. focused on red panda in Singlalia National Park and she was featured in Cherub of the Mist, a documentary on the release of two zoo-born red pandas (Mini and Sweety) into Singalila National Park. Dr. Khaling is trained as an ecologist as well as an interdisciplinary environmental researcher who has worked for the last 15+ years in projects that enhance sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services at a landscape level.
We will discuss our transboundary conservation progress as well as the challenges we still face. We will emphasize how biodiversity follows no political boundary and therefore national approaches to conservation need to connect to international collaborations and coordination. They will also be joined by Red Panda Network's Program Coordinator, Sonam Tashi Lama.
Plant A Red Panda Home
Monday, November 30th 2020
8:00 PM Pacific Time
Ang Phuri Sherpa — RPN's Country Director — will be joining us to talk about our campaign to reforest core habitat, connect fragmented forest and create a wildlife corridor that will sustain a viable red panda population.
Since we launched Plant A Red Panda Home in 2019, we have planted nearly 50,000 trees in core habitat that is critical to the survival of red pandas in Nepal. Now our goal is to continue to expand this initiative and reforest 50 additional hectares with 100,000 trees planted for red pandas by 2021!
Learn more:
