Reaching the People Who Live Among Red Pandas

RPN raises awareness on the frontlines of red panda conservation with the Holtzmann Wildlife Foundation. On a global scale, red panda awareness is steadily growing. Videos on social media of adorable zoo-born cubs are going viral and people are doing their part to share conservation messages of this species.  But

Nobody Ever Said, “Saving Red Pandas is Easy”

The terrain is steep and difficult, the weather is unpredictable, the journey: treacherous at times. But Forest Guardian Bimala Moktan is up to the challenge of protecting endangered red pandas. Bimala Moktan was 24 when she joined RPN’s Forest Guardian (FG) team. Her uncle, Deu Prakash Tamang, had been an

I Can’t Imagine A World Without Red Pandas

Since April of this year, nearly 70 people have joined our Panda Guardian team—kicking off 2019 as a pivotal year for guarding red pandas from extinction.  ​In 2006, Red Panda Network (RPN) initiated the Red Panda Project or Project Punde Kundo (red panda is locally known as Punde Kundo) in

Stop the Illegal Red Panda Trade – 2019 Update

Never before has illegal wildlife trade been such a threat to the future of the endangered species of our planet.  A colossal ivory market continues to grow and fuel the rapid decline of elephants and rhinos (three rhino subspecies have been declared extinct since 2011).  Meanwhile, the last wild tigers—estimates

Raising Red Pandas: It Takes a Village—and a Plan

‘Tis the season for red panda babies. As summer in the Northern Hemisphere approaches, zoos remain on watch for another year of successful red panda births. In late April, Birmingham (Ala.) Zoo announced that its red panda Sorrel is pregnant. The news comes a year after zoos around the world

No Trees, No Red Pandas—No life

She witnessed the forests being decimated; now, she fights to protect them as RPN’s first female Forest Guardian in Western Nepal. Shanti Malla grew up in the rural hills of Dailekh district in Western Nepal. She remembers venturing into the forests to gather fuelwood and graze livestock. Sometimes Malla would

Shouldering the Burden of Conservation: Why We All Should Be Visiting Our Local Zoos

If you are paying any sort of attention lately, you probably know that plastic, while convenient, is not the best for our planet. Maybe you have opted for reusable grocery bags and given up one-time use straws. Maybe you carry one of those fancy water bottles (my friends at work

Building A Foundation for Red Panda Conservation and Sustainable Living

Construction has begun on Nepal’s first center committed to alleviating poverty and ensuring a sustainable future for people and red pandas. On May 24th, Ghanendra Maden, District Coordination Committee Chairperson for Taplejung district and Bam Bahadur Bhattarai, Vice-Chairperson of Phungling Municipality—the location of the project site—laid the foundation stone for

Happy Hollow Zoo: A Heavyweight for Red Panda Conservation

Happy Hollow Zoo opens red panda exhibit and commits to the preservation of this endangered species. Many people say that a house isn’t a home without a dog (cat, hedgehog, anole, enter favored animal companion here). You could say something similar about a zoo—yes, technically you can have an excellent