The Bengal forest department has decided to count red pandas at the Singalila National Park in Darjeeling and the Neora Valley National Park in Kalimpong next year.

“In 2019, a population estimation of the red pandas was carried out, with 31 pandas found in Singalila and 35 in the Neora Valley. In 2025, we will conduct a census of the animal species again,” said Bhaskar J.V., the chief conservator of forests (wildlife, north).

During the census, foresters will collect scat samples of red pandas and send them to a Hyderabad-based laboratory for DNA tests. “Once the tests are done, we will have an estimation of the red panda population in these two national parks,” added the forester.

The red panda, marked as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), dwells in the Eastern Himalayas. “Around 10,000 red pandas reportedly live across this region,” said a source.

The senior forester said they had initiated a programme to augment the red panda population at the Neora Valley National Park (NVNP). Located in Kalimpong district, the park is spread over 88sqkm and at elevations varying from 600 feet to over 10,000 feet above sea level.

“We are now working on a plan to augment the red panda population in the NNVP by releasing pandas born through captive breeding,” said the forest officer.

He pointed out that the state forest department initiated the project with Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), a French agency, for the conservation of flora and fauna in two national parks in north Bengal. NVNP apart, the other is the Gorumara National Park located in the Jalpaiguri district.

“We conducted a joint survey in NVNP and identified a few spots where pandas would be released (into the national parks). We are waiting for a report from the AFD after which, the work will start,” he added.

Authorities of the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling successfully carried out captive breeding of the endangered species at Topgey Dara. Since 2003, 12 captive-bred red pandas have been released into the Singalila National Park.