Seijosa: The WTI-IFAW Wild Rescue team has rescued a two-month old red panda cub from a government veterinarian in Tawang in the north-eastern Arunachal Pradesh state. The cub has been housed in Pakke and is being looked after by veterinarians.Dr. Darge Tsering, emergency rescue veterinarian at WTI-IFAW’s Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) in Pakke, who brought the panda from Tawang, found it in good health.

“The doctor had brought it as a present for his wife from the local market and she was very attached to it. When we reached there the family refused to part with the animal even though the doctor himself had informed the forest department about the animal,” Dr Tsering said.

The red panda resembles a raccoon in size and appearance almost exclusively eats bamboo. It is rare, continues to decline and figures on IUCN’s endangered category. According to animalinfo.org it has already become extinct in 4 of the 7 Chinese provinces in which it was previously found.

The major threats to red pandas are loss and fragmentation of habitat due to deforestation (and the resulting loss of bamboo) for timber, fuel and agricultural land; poaching for the pet and fur trades; and competition from domestic livestock.

The fur of red pandas is used to make hats and clothing by local people in China. The fur hat with its long, luxurious tail at the back looks beautiful and warm. In Yunnan Province, this type of hat is still desired by newlyweds, because it was regarded as a talisman for a happy marriage in the past.