Sikkim Zoo Sees Birth Of Two Red Panda Cubs After Seven-Year Gap
The future breeding plan will be decided by the Himalayan Zoological Park after assessing the cubs' health and genetic compatibility. November-January is the breeding period.
Published : August 2, 2025 at 4:03 PM IST
|Updated : August 2, 2025 at 7:41 PM IST
Gangtok: After a seven-year gap, two red panda cubs were born to Lucky and Mirak on June 15 in the Himalayan Zoological Park of Sikkim under the Red Panda Conservation and Breeding Project.
The cubs were not initially brought for display and are kept in a safe place with their parents until they grow up. If everything goes as expected, they will be brought for public display within a year. The future breeding plan will be decided by the zoo authority after assessing their health and genetic compatibility. November-January is the breeding period of Red Pandas, and cubs are born between July and August. Categorised as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, their declining population has been a cause of worry among conservationists.
Kaustubh Choudhary, convener of Solitary Nature and Animal Protection, said, "After seven years of hard work, Sikkim has succeeded in breeding red pandas. While Darjeeling has succeeded in breeding and preserving this rare species, Sikkim was a little behind. Hopefully, this time, this endangered species can be preserved more quickly with coordinated steps by the two states."
The red panda conservation breeding project at the Himalayan Zoological Park started in 1997 with the translocation of Preeti, a red panda, from Rotterdam Zoo and Jugal from Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling. Through their successful breeding, a healthy genetic natural wild base was established.
In 2005, another pair was born under the project, which further strengthened the genetic diversity. To ensure scientific breeding and maintain diversity, each red panda born in this project is closely monitored through national and international research.
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