FOUR ANIMALS TO REACH THE HILL PARK FOR CAPTIVE BREEDINGRed pandas leave Darjeeling for Berlin zoo

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, 5 February 2020, Siliguri: Two red pandas have set off from Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling for Berlin in Germany.

This is the first time in the past 10 years that the Darjeeling zoo has sent Himalayan red pandas to any European country.

On the other hand, four animals of the same species will soon reach the zoo from three countries for captive breeding.

The Darjeeling zoo was selected in the late 1990s for the captive breeding of the red panda. Shine, a female red panda, and male Joel started from Darjeeling on Monday by road. They will reach Calcutta on Tuesday and fly to Berlin in an early morning flight on Wednesday.

"The female panda is around six years old while the male is about five years. The animals will be taken to Tier Zoo of Berlin. They are sent under animal exchange programme with Germany," said Rajendra Jakhar, the director of the Darjeeling zoo.

"We had brought five takins from the Berlin zoo in January, 2019. The two pan- A red panda at the Darjeeling zoo. File picture das were sent in exchange of those animals. With the departure of Shine and Joel, the Darjeeling park has 21 pandas now. Of the 21, 12 are females.

In 2010, a panda from Darjeeling zoo had been sent to a zoological park in Auckland, New Zealand.

The red panda is an endangered species under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The animal which is utterly shy is found in the Singalila National Park in Darjeeling and Neora Valley National Park in Kalimpong district, located about 12,000ft and 7,200ft, respectively.

Singalila is spread over 90 sqkm and Neora Valley 180sqkm.

"We will get four more pandas from zoos in Australia, Denmark and Czechoslovakia for captive breeding. Two male pandas will reach here from Australia, while the females will come from the other two countries. All the animals are expected to reach here by August," Jakhar said.

Sources in the Bengal forest department said the captive breeding of the panda was planned in Singalila where required infrastructure has been developed. "The pandas will be released into the Singalila park with radio collars in April next year. We plan to release four pandas in Neora Valley, too," said an official.