Red alert for red pandas as their forest habitat is wiped out
So often their story is overshadowed by the beloved giant panda’s plight, but in reality red pandas are in more desperate need of our help.
They have declined 50% since 1997, driven by the destruction of Myanmar’s forests combined with poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. Now, only 10,000 are thought to be left in the wild.
Please donate now before time runs out for these charismatic critters. Your support will allow us to protect their home from destruction and keep red pandas roaming free.
Why are red pandas endangered?
Red pandas are facing a barrage of threats. Their forest habitat is being cleared at an alarming rate, as humans encroach on their once-hidden home and demolish it for logging and agriculture.
New roads are being built to facilitate the development of these industries, but unfortunately they are providing hunters with easy access to the forest, resulting in increased poaching of red pandas and other endangered wildlife that inhabit the area.
Red pandas are targeted by poachers for the illegal wildlife trade. They are hunted for their fur, which is turned into hats, or stolen from the wild to be sold as pets. What’s more, they inadvertently stumble into traps set for other species that share their habitat, such as tigers and bears, with fatal consequences. The list of threats is seemingly never-ending.
Forest cover in Myanmar has already declined by 16% since 1990. We need to act fast, or soon red pandas will have nowhere left to call home.
What is Fauna & Flora doing to save red pandas?
Despite the cocktail of threats, there’s still hope for these animals if we can get protection in place.
Fauna & Flora is supporting the creation of community-managed no-hunting zones in the most critical areas for biodiversity.
We’re employing dedicated community rangers to patrol these sites, looking out for signs of illegal logging and poaching. Their job is not easy – they must cover vast stretches of high-altitude forests, traversing tough terrain and dodging snares left by hunters.
And there is still much to be done to secure a future for red pandas.
We need to train more rangers and provide them with the equipment they need to conduct their patrols. We need to work alongside local communities that are dependent on natural resources to enable them to earn sustainable livelihoods. And we need to continue working to help create more protected areas where red pandas can begin to recover.
How could my donation save red pandas?
Your donation could provide rangers with the equipment they need, such as boots, camping gear and rations, to continue patrolling the diminishing habitat of red pandas.
You could also help us deploy camera traps across the red panda’s home range, enabling usto identify the areas in most urgent need of protection.
With your support, we could work alongside the local communities and grassroots organisations to bring an end to the habitat destruction that most threatens red pandas.
All this is simply not possible without your support, so please donate now.
A red panda in a forest photographed by a Fauna & Flora camera trap.
Why Fauna & Flora?
Fauna & Flora has been supporting conservation work by local civil society organisations in Myanmar since 2008, and we were one of the first international conservation organisations on the ground as the country began to open up in 2011.
In that time, we have discovered over 100 new species in the country and protected countless others from extinction. Our expert teams of rangers, along with our long-standing legacy of working in the region, make us the best people for the job.
So please donate now and be a part of the team working to save red pandas, together.