Re-wilding programme of red pandas

In New: Singalila National Park launches programme that aims to release about 20 red pandas in a period of five years

• The number of red pandas has been declining in the wild, even in the Singalila and Neora Valley National Parks, the two protected areas where the endangered mammal is found in the wild in West Bengal.
• Recent studies estimate that there are 38 of them in Singalila and 32 in Neora.

Red Panda

• Scientific Name: Ailurus fulgens
• Geographic habitat: Sikkim, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh
• IUCN Status: Endangered
• The red panda is a small arboreal mammal found in the forests of India, Nepal, Bhutan and the northern mountains of Myanmar and southern China.
• It is a state animal of Sikkim.
• Red pandas are shy and solitary and considered an indicator species for ecological change.
• It thrives best at 2,200-4,800m, in mixed deciduous and conifer forests with dense under stories of bamboo.
• The recent studies have concluded that India is home to both the (sub) species — Himalayan red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and the Chinese red panda (Ailurus styani) and the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh splits the two phylogenetic species.

Singalila National Park

• Singalila National Park is a National park of India located on the Singalila Ridge at an altitude of more than 7000 feet above sea level, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
• The park was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1986, and was made an Indian national park in 1992.
• The park is part of the Eastern Himalayas.
• The Singalila Ridge, which runs roughly North to South and separates Himalayan West Bengal from the other Eastern Himalayan ranges to the west of it.
• The two highest peaks of West Bengal, Sandakphu (3630 m) and Phalut (3600 m), are located on the ridge and inside the park.
• Rammam river and Srikhola River flow through the park.

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Question

Q.1) With reference to Indian elephants, consider the following statements: (2020)

1. The leader of an elephant group is a female.
2. The maximum gestation period can be 22 months.
3. An elephant can normally go on calving till the age of 40 years only.
4. Among the States in India, the highest elephant population is in Kerala.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 4 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 3 and 4 only