Darjeeling red panda to find home in New Zealand

DARJEELING: Sagar, a male red panda of Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park in Darjeeling, will leave for Auckland Zoo in New Zealand at the end of this month as part of an exchange programme to make way for a female panda.

Efforts are being made to book a flight to New Zealand with special transportation arrangements, in accordance with international standards and guidelines. Sagar will, however, be kept at Kolkata airport in quarantine for a month before the actual departure.

The female red panda from Auckland Zoo is expected to arrive in Darjeeling by end-September or early October once the government formalities are completed.

"It is a routine exchange programme with various domestic and international zoos. Government formalities for sending our red panda have been completed but some formalities are pending to bring the panda from New Zealand," said zoo director A K Jha.

Since the inception of a scientific breeding programme undertaken in 1992, the Darjeeling zoo has successfully increased the number of red pandas. At present, there are 14 red pandas at the zoo.

As part of a captive breeding and release programme, four red pandas have so far been released in the Singalila National Park of Darjeeling between 2001 and 2003.

"Our zoo has the expertise and a successful rate in breeding red pandas. Since we have a larger number of males, we decided to replace them with females. Besides, we have to avoid genetic problems that could arise due to inbreeding," said Shiromani Syangden, estate officer of Darjeeling zoo. Darjeeling


Source TOI

Endangered pheasants from UK to join Darjeeling Zoo

Brightly coloured Crimson Horned and Crimson Bellied pheasants will soon be seen in West Bengal's Darjeeling zoo with steps being taken to bring the winged birds from UK.

"Paradise Wildlife Park in UK has agreed to give us four Satyr Tragopan (two male and female each) and eight (4:4) Temminick Tragopan, both endangered pheasants," A K Jha, director, Darjeeling Zoo which is also known as Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park told PTI.

Veterinary protocol has been already prepared from both sides in this regard. They will soon join our collection of 80 pheasants, he says.

Satyr Tragopan also known as the Crimson Horned Pheasant and Temminck's Tragopan also called Crimson-bellied Tragopan have been identified for the purpose of breeding under the Central Zoo Authority's conservation programme as only a few are left in the wild.

PTI

Two Red Pandas to be released from Darjeeling Zoo

Encouraged by the success of 2003, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) authority of Darjeeling is planning to release more two more red pandas in the wild.

The PNHZP takes care of animals who live on the higher altitudes. The zoo is the only one in India to achieve success in captive breeding of endangered Himalayan species.
The Red Panda is a highly endangered Himalayan animal for which the Darjeeling zoo has started a captive breeding programme. The presence of red panda, Tibetan wolf, snow leopard and Siberian tiger have put put the lives of pheasants in danger. Most of the Himalayan pheasants are considered as endangered species.

The initiative of the PNHZP authorities is not new. In 2003, the zoo authorities had released four female red pandas in the Singalila National Park. “With an aim to increase the population of endangered species, we had started the plan to release them in the wild. Our first project was successful. We had monitored the pandas for one year through radio collar. Among the four female pandas, one had given birth also. Now we cannot track them because the radio callers have stopped functioning. Owing to the success of the 2003 project, we are planning to release two more male red pandas in the wild,” the director of the PNHZP, Mr AK Jha said.

“It is a lengthy process to release the captive animals in the wild. We have to train the animals, so that they can survive. If everything occurs according to plans, then we release the animals, he added. According to official report, there are 14 red pandas in the Darjeeling zoo.

Source: The Statesman

New lease of life to Darjeeling snow leopards

Darjeeling: Darjeeling's Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, nestling at the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range, is offering a new lease of life to the highly endangered species of snow leopards.

Today, it is known for its successful breeding of snow leopards.

Having started with just four snow leopards --two from Germany and another two from America -- the zoological park is today home to 14 snow leopards.

In 1986, inspired by the Switzerland-based, International Snow Leopard Trust, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in West Bengal launched a snow leopard breeding programme. The objective was and is the conservation of snow leopards in captivity.

According to authorities at the zoo, the breeding of snow leopards is a long-term project, and will involve exchange programmes both within India and abroad.

"The future plan is that we'll continue breeding and we'll be sending these animals to other zoos like we have done with...we have sent animals to Shimla, Nainital and Gangtok," said said A. K. Jha, the Director of the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park.

"They are keeping these animals in captivity in India and we have also had an exchange programme with zoos in other parts of the world. We bring animals from there and we exchange them for the new improved bloodline," Jha added.

Weighing up to 75 kilograms (165 lb), the snow leopard has a thick, soft gray coat with ringed black spots to help it camouflage itself against rocks.

The snow leopard's tail is almost the same length as its body and helps maintain its balance on the rugged mountain terrain.

Scientifically known as the 'Uncia uncia', the solitary cats are native to the remote mountain ranges of central and southern Asia, where their population is estimated to be around 7,000.

In 2006, India had between 200 to 600 snow leopards -- the third-largest population of the wild cats after China and Mongolia -- of which around half inhabit Kashmir's Himalayan mountain range at the altitudes of about 3,000 metres (9,800 feet).

The cats, whose skin command a high price in the international market, are protected but wildlife groups say there have been no real conservation measures to help save the endangered species.

The degradation of their natural habitat, poaching of their furs, reduction of their prey due to hunting and them being killed by locals as retribution for lost livestock are some of the factors that contribute to their depleting population, officials said.

The Himalayan range covers most of northern India.

Copyright Asian News International

Second Campus by Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park

Darjeeling : Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is about to set up a second campus at Kurseong’s Deer Park, 38km away.

With the number of animals for the conservation breeding programme on the rise — the Himalayan tahr, blue sheep and salamander, among others, have joined the red panda, snow leopard and Tibetan wolf — the authorities feel more space is needed for the successful implementation of the project.

A blueprint to develop the infrastructure in Kurseong is being chalked out. Though the Bengal government has sent positive feelers, a formal approval will be sought soon. Permission will also have to be taken from the Central Zoo Authority, which does not recognise the Deer Park at Dow Hill. “Hopefully we can start by December end,” said A.K. Jha, the director of the zoo. The project cost will be worked out only after the formal nod from the state government.

“Grey peacock, blood pheasant, Himalayan monal and satyr tragopan are also part of the project. Their breeding will take place in Kurseong (unlike the Himalayan tahr, blue sheep and salamander),” said Jha.

The purpose of conservation breeding is not only to increase the number of animals, but also enhance their genetic pool by avoiding inter-breeding. Since the zoo here does not have blood pheasants and satyr tragopans, the authorities have sought permission to capture some from the wild or bring them from other zoos.

For the blue sheep, a memorandum of understanding is likely to be signed soon between India and Japan so that at least four animals, which are also found in China and the Tibetan Plateau, can be brought from there.

In May this year, the ministry of environment and forests approved conservation breeding for 58 animals. Padmaja Naidu is part of this project.

Source: The Telegraph

Darjeeling PNHZ park plan on 7 more endangered species

Darjeeling: Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZ Park) here is set to expand its conservation and breeding programme to cover seven more endangered species.

The zoo currently conserves and breeds red pandas, snow leopards and Tibetan wolves. The animals and birds selected for the second phase of the programme, which has got the nod of the Bengal forest department, are blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, Himalayan salamander, Himalayan monal, grey peacock pheasant, Himalayan blood pheasant and Satyr Tragopan.

“We do not have any blue sheep at the zoo at the moment, but we expect to get a few from Japan by the end of this year,” said A.K. Jha, the director of the zoo. Jha and his team must also bring Satyr Tragopans from elsewhere.

From now on, the Darjeeling zoo will act as a coordinating zoo for red panda, Tibetan wolf, Satyr Tragopan, grey peacock pheasant, snow leopard and Himalayan salamander. This means it will breed and exchange these animals and birds with other zoos. The exchange programme ensures a bigger gene pool for the species and creates alternative dwelling places for them, which may be required if an epidemic breaks out in any of the participating zoos.

State forest minister Ananta Roy, who visited the zoo today, named two snow leopard cubs born at the breeding centre there. Prakriti and Atithi were born on May 1 this year, and are among the 13 snow leopards currently living in the zoo.

Before his visit to the zoo, the minister attended a programme at Sukhiapokhari to mark the end of the Aranya Saptaha (Forest Week) in the hills. He also gave away the “Green School” trophy to Loreto Convent for being the most environment-friendly school in the Darjeeling hills.

Roy spoke of a new museum at the Darjeeling zoo. Sources said the Bengal Natural History Museum may be shifted there from the office of the divisional forest officer, Wildlife I.

Source: The Telegraph