Darjeeling zoo has started a new breeding conservation centre for Snow Leopard and Red Panda. It is the first Asian Zoo to have started captive breeding of snow leopards.
The new centre is built over an area of five hectares inside Darjeeling zoo.
At present, the zoo has 14 snow leopards and 17 red pandas. While, this centre has three pairs of snow leopards and two pairs of red panda.
As per the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and IUCN, the main objective of this breeding centre would be to ensure a safe and healthy transition of captive-bred animals from the zoo to the wild jungle.
In the years 2003 and 2004, they had released four red pandas, born under captivity, into the wild. Two of them, however, died later on for not being able to take the pressure of jungle.
Although snow leopards have been born under captivity here since 1989, yet the authorities from zoo have not released any of them into the wild so far.
The official mentioned that they should be able to release red pandas into the wild in the next 1-2 years, but the snow leopards would take around 4-5 years.
Two female cubs were recently born to a snow leopard brought from Czech Republic.
The main reason for delaying in the release is
- To train them to hunt food in a forest as in zoo they don't have to hunt.
- To find a proper habitat which the species can adopt as their new home.
An endangered species, snow leopards are found in higher altitudes of the Himalayas and are hunted for their valuable fur.
As joint initiative of the state and central government, the Darjeeling zoo is also conducting conservation programmes for other endangered Himalayan species like Tibetan wolf, Himalayan salamander, etc.
What is Captive breeding?
Captive breeding is the process of breeding animals in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife reserves, zoos and other conservation facilities.
Sometimes the process is construed to include release of individual organisms to the wild, when there is sufficient natural habitat to support new individuals or when the threat to the
species in the wild is lessened.
Captive breeding programs facilitate biodiversity and may save species from extinction. However, such programs may also reduce genetic diversity and species fitness.
The Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of
Central and South Asia.
It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because as of 2003, the size of the global population was estimated at 4,080-6,590 adults, of which fewer than 2,500 individuals may reproduce in the wild.
In India, estimated population of snow leopard is 200-600 and protected under Wild Life Protection Act,1972.
The snow leopard is the National Heritage Animal of Pakistan.
The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens), also called lesser panda and red cat-bear, is a small arboreal mammal native 
to the eastern
to the eastern
Himalayas and southwestern China.
It has been classified as vulnerable by IUCN as its wild population is estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals.
The population continues to decline and is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression.
Red pandas are protected by national laws in their range countries. In India, it is protected under Schedule I of Wild Life Protection Act,1972.
No comments:
Post a Comment