Darjeeling Zoo’s Red Panda conservation breeding programme among top 3 finalist for WAZA Award

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 8 Oct 2024, Darjeeling: The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (Pnhzp) in Darjeeling has reason to cheer. 

In a first for india, the Red Panda Conservation Breeding and Augmentation Programme of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, has been shortlisted as one of the top three finalists by World Association of Zoos and Aquariums for the 2024 WAZA Conservation & Environmental Sustainability Awards. 

The winner will be announced at the 79th WAZA Annual Conference at Tarongo Zoo, Sydney, Australia on November 7, 2024. 

The Pnhzp is the coordinating zoo for the Red Panda breeding programme (Project Red Panda) in India. Under this programme, red pandas are bred in captivity at high altitude zoos, including Pnhzp, Gangtok zoo in Sikkim and Itanagar zoo. 

The first breeding success under the Project Red Panda came in 1994. The first Red Pandas for this programme were brought in from various European Zoos like Rotterdam, Madrid and Clone Zoo in the late 80’s and early 90’s. 

Between 2022 and 2024, nine captive-bred red pandas (seven females and two males) were released in the Singalila National Park (SNP) in Bengal. Of the seven released females, three gave birth to five cubs in the wild. 

Pnhzp, in collaboration with the Wildlife Wing of the Government of West Bengal, has undertaken several habitat restoration initiatives in the Singalila National Park and Darjeeling division. The zoo is taking several in-house and collaborative research works related to Red Panda with institutions like CCMB, IISER and WII. 

PNHZP’s conservation efforts are further strengthened by its Biobanking and Genetic Resource Facility, wherein gametes, tissues and DNA of Red Pandas and other endangered species will be preserved for future use. 

“It is a great achievement. I would especially like to laud the efforts of all those who have been working on ground zero and have made this possible. This is the first time in India that such a conservation project has been shortlisted to be globally recognised.
Such recognition definitely acts as a morale booster and will help us strive harder,” stated Forest minister Birbaha Hansda while talking to Millennium Post. 

However, in the past also WAZA had lauded Pnhzp’s conservation efforts. WAZA in a social media post on January 5, 2024, had stated: “Presently, the PNHZP has the largest captive population of snow leopards in the world.” WAZA had lauded the Darjeeling zoo for successfully breeding snow leopards for the past 30 years. 

“With our continued efforts the Red Panda conservation breeding programme is running successfully. This year we had 4 Red Panda cubs born in captivity. At present we have 19 Red Pandas,” stated Basavaraj Holeyachi, Director, Pnhzp. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/about-45-rg-kar-senior-docs-resign-to-express-solidarity-with-juniors-582612?infinitescroll=1