A wildlife conservationist couple from Calcutta took pictures of elusive red pandas in a community forest in Nepal last week.

Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens), naturally shy and reclusive, are mainly found in the high-altitude forests along the eastern Himalayan range.

It has an endangered status according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and less than 10,000 are estimated to be in the wild — in India, Nepal, Bhutan and China.

Joydip and Suchandra Kundu, founders of Society for Heritage and Ecological Research (SHER), an NGO that works for conservation, went on an expedition to the Singalila Ridge in Kaiyakata near the Indo-Nepal border.

“We were lucky to have spotted as many as seven red pandas. We saw a mother with two cubs each at two spots and one solitary red panda at another,” said Suchandra.

The picture shared with Metro, taken on December 4, shows a red panda with one of her cubs. “The mom was regurgitating, feeding bamboo leaves to the club,” she said.

What struck the couple most was that the local community was in charge of the forest.

The villagers fan out across the forest early in the morning to track the elusive animal. Based on the information they shared, groups of explorers leave their shelters and enter the forest. Most of the exploration is on foot.

“Conservation of the red panda is the priority of the locals. When they confirm a red panda sighting at a spot, we go there. We are not allowed to spend more than 15 to 20 minutes at any one spot. Because the animal might get disturbed. Talking loudly is prohibited. Keeping the sanctity of the forest is non-negotiable,” said Joydip Kundu.

In Bengal, Singalila National Park (SNP) in Darjeeling and the Neora Valley National Park (NVNP) in Kalimpong are red panda habitats. The Bengal forest department has prioritised red panda conservation and captive breeding efforts since
2003.

The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling has been running a captive breeding programme at Topgey Dara for the past 22 years.

The zoo has released more than 10 red pandas into the wild so far.

Poaching and habitat loss are the main threats red pandas face, along with predators like leopards and feral dogs.