Nepal Community Efforts Revive Red Panda Population 

This picture taken on February 5, 2025, shows a red panda at the central zoo in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. (AFP)
This picture taken on February 5, 2025, shows a red panda at the central zoo in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. (AFP)
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Nepal Community Efforts Revive Red Panda Population 

This picture taken on February 5, 2025, shows a red panda at the central zoo in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. (AFP)
This picture taken on February 5, 2025, shows a red panda at the central zoo in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. (AFP)

Nepali police officer Jiwan Subba still feels pangs of regret decades after he bludgeoned a strange creature he found wandering in his barn, not realizing it was an endangered red panda.

Red pandas may share a similar name to giant pandas -- due to their bamboo diet -- but the copper-hued mammals with raccoon-like features are much smaller, typically the size of a house cat.

"I was 17 and had no idea what it was. Nobody in our village even knew," Subba, now 48, told AFP.

Today, he is not only aware of the red panda's vulnerability but is actively involved in its protection -- reflecting a broader shift in attitudes spurred by Nepal's extensive community awareness programs.

"I once took a life out of ignorance, but now I work to prevent others from making the same mistake," he said.

"People now understand that red pandas are a protected species."

Officials say that Nepal's pioneering community-based conservation work has helped arrest the decline of the cute but skittish bamboo-eaters, which number fewer than 10,000 globally.

Red Panda Network, an organization leading global efforts to conserve the animal, estimates between 500 and 1,000 of the species live in Nepal.

That is an almost certain increase from an estimated population of somewhere between 300 and 600 by the Himalayan republic's wildlife department in 2011.

"Now, villagers say they can see three or four red pandas on the same day," Red Panda Network's Ang Phuri Sherpa told AFP.

- 'Undisturbed' -

Conservationists say that educational outreach combined with sustainable livelihood programs has helped improve the effectiveness of Nepal's conservation efforts.

In eastern Nepal, Indigenous inhabitants of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area switched from raising livestock to cultivating nettle plants to minimize disturbances to red panda habitats.

"We have stopped foraging in the forest so red pandas remain undisturbed," said Chandra Kumari Limbu, a local working on conservation efforts.

Instead, the rhythmic clap of looms now fills the village from women weaving nettle fabric into school bags, wallets and clothing.

"This has empowered women here who did not have an income before. And at the same time we are letting red pandas thrive," Limbu told AFP.

Nepal last year also declared a new conservation zone in the country's east to protect red pandas.

The Puwamajhuwa Community Red Panda Conservation Area, spanning 116 hectares (287 acres), has dedicated anti-poaching and smuggling control committees with local involvement.

- Poaching and infrastructure -

Nepali authorities have confiscated 33 red panda hides from smugglers in the past five years, a drop from 70 hides from 2011-15.

"The number of red panda hides being smuggled has significantly come down, mainly due to weaker smuggling networks and lower profits," police spokesperson Dinesh Kumar Acharya told AFP.

Nepal has strict punishments for poachers of protected species, including prison sentences of up to 10 years.

Conservationists warn however that many poaching incidents go undetected or unpunished.

Red panda hides are mainly smuggled to China and Myanmar for their supposed medicinal qualities and aesthetic value, according to police.

Their copper-colored fur, cherubic appearance and small size also make them easy candidates for the exotic pet trade.

According to an assessment from the International Union for Conservation for Nature (IUCN), interest in red pandas as pets may have grown partly because of the preponderance of "cute" images of the animals shared on social media.

The IUCN has listed the mammal as an endangered species since 2016 and says they face high risk of extinction due to habitat loss.

Sherpa of the Red Panda Network said growing infrastructure development in Nepal was posing further challenges for conservation efforts.

"Road networks, hydroelectricity, transmission lines and cable car construction is going on, and because of these, habitats have been fragmented," he said.

Residents in Taplejung district, a key red panda habitat, are currently protesting the mass felling of thousands of trees for a new cable car project aimed at promoting tourism in the area.

"The government should take extra cautious measures when constructing large infrastructure projects," local conservationist Rajindra Mahat told AFP.

"It is an endangered species worldwide, so it is our shared responsibility to protect it."



Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
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Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)

A satellite backed by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been lost in space while carrying out an important climate change mission, New Zealand officials said Wednesday.

Designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions with "unprecedented resolution", the MethaneSAT space probe was also funded by Wellington and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund.

Plagued with technical problems, the satellite recently stopped responding to its Earth-bound controllers.

"Clearly, this is a disappointing development," said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency.

"As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt -- successful or not -- pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of."

The Environmental Defense Fund, which led the project, said it was "difficult news" but would not be the end of its methane-tracking efforts.

MethaneSAT was designed to measure emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which fuels climate change by trapping heat in the planet's atmosphere.

It has proven notoriously difficult to get accurate estimates of the methane emissions belched out by oil and gas projects around the globe.

"It was one of the most advanced methane tracking satellites in space, measuring methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions across the world," the MethaneSAT team said.

Project lead Steven Hamburg said initial data gleaned by the satellite was "remarkable".
"Recent measurements in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico revealed emissions three to five times higher than estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, while emissions observed in the South Caspian region are over 10 times higher than reported," Hamburg wrote on LinkedIn.

MethaneSAT was launched into space in March 2024 on the back of a SpaceX rocket fired from California.

Controllers first lost contact with the satellite on June 20, the MethaneSAT team said in a statement.

They confirmed it had lost all power on Monday this week and was "likely not recoverable".

"The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication," MethaneSAT said, according to AFP.

"This is expected to take time. We will share what we learn."

Despite its shorter-than-expected lifespan, MethaneSAT hailed the mission as a "remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment".

Amazon founder Bezos pumped more than US$100 million into the project through his philanthropic Earth Fund.

The satellite eventually succumbed after overcoming a string of technical glitches.
It repeatedly entered a sleep, or stand-by, mode without prompting -- forcing engineers to perform a lengthy reset each time.

One of its three thrusters also failed.