The Status of the Red Panda in Jamuna and Mabu Villages of Eastern Nepal

Abstract

The status of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) is examined in the cultural context of Jamuna and Mabu Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the Ilam District in eastern Nepal. Intensive, market-driven land-use threatens red panda habitat and the largest unprotected oak stands in eastern Nepal. This study investigates red panda ecology and Jamuna and Mabu human ecology. Results indicate that red panda density in the study area average 1 red panda/1.38km 2 , and they prefer undisturbed Eastern Himalayan mixed broadleaf forest between 2800m – 3000m. Predation is the greatest threat to the population. In the last year alone, local dogs killed two red panda. Results also indicate that Jamuna and Mabu land use decisions are market-driven with grazing and bamboo harvesting being the most detrimental to red panda habitat. This thesis concludes that, in Jamuna and Mabu, the red panda is critically endangered because of intense, market-driven use of its habitat and local dog predation.