The Red Pandas of Labahe

Greetings Everyone,

After a very successful trip to the Tibetan Plateau, we flew back to Chengdu to embark on the next leg of our journey a visit to Labahe Nature Reserve. We said goodbye to our trip leader Jesper Hornskov and picked up a new guide, Roland Ziedler for our extensions to Labahe and Tangjiahe Nature Reserves. Labahe is a 6-hour drive to the southwest of Chengdu and we didn’t arrive until the night of October 19. Despite the long drive some of us were eager to search for mammals so we grabbed our torches and went on a night walk up the road. A light drizzle was falling but the animal viewing was quite good. We encountered some very tame deer on the road which at first we thought were Sambar but they turned out to be Altai Wapiti introduced recently from a deer farm. We also saw Chinese Goral, Chinese Serow, Red-and-White Flying Squirrel and a Forest Musk Deer, a lifer for both Roland and Phil.

Altai Wapiti

We left very early the next morning as we had permission to enter the reserve early to avoid the masses of Chinese tourists who were sure to arrive later. Located in the Hengduan Mountains, Labahe Nature Reserve is one of the best places in China to see Red Pandas. The vegetation and altitude of the reserve make it the perfect habitat for the Red Panda. We drove up in darkness spotting only a single Sambar. It was still too early for Red Panda so we hiked up to Azalea Lake. On the way, we spotted our first Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel and at the lake was another Forest Musk Deer. We returned to the main road and climbed higher when Phil spotted a Red Panda feeding in a nearby tree! At this time of year, the pandas come down from the higher elevations to gorge themselves on berries to fatten up for the upcoming winter. Our group enjoyed great views at a responsible distance and took many photos.

Red Panda

After dinner, we went on a night drive. We drove up the road which ended at a high-end resort that was all lit up with kissing swans, a rainbow-colored waterfall and a Christmas tree! It was very surreal. Sadly, Labahe is turning into more of an amusement park for Chinese tourists complete with a zip-line, obstacle course, cable car and of course this "Vegas-styled" resort.

Kissing Swans

We drove back down the road seeing more mammals including Masked Palm Civets, Complex-toothed Flying Squirrel, Chinese Goral, Sambar, Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel, and Confucian Niviventer. It was nice knowing that somehow wildlife was able to coexist with all the development that was going on to amuse humans.

Chinese Goral

The next morning our special permission to enter the reserve early in our own bus was revoked and we had to wait and enter with the other tourists on a public bus. Unfortunately, a beautiful male Lady Amherst’s Pheasant was spotted by Erling but being on a public bus we couldn’t stop and we missed it completely. We were driven to the top of the road where the cable car rides were just getting underway. We walked down the road on the lookout for Red Pandas but saw none. We made it down to the “zip-line road” and started the climb back up to make a second pass for pandas. Sarah and Cathy spotted a Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel close by and we got good views and photos.

Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel

We resumed our climb when Sarah spotted something in a tree far up the road. To our amazement, it was a Red Panda, a great find! He was lying in the open on a branch and there was a clearing where we could get off the road and set up our scopes and cameras to view and photograph the panda. We watched the panda sleep, groom and feed for almost an hour. This fellow (I’m assuming it was a male) had a tattered right ear while the panda we saw yesterday had an intact right ear so this was a different individual.

Red Panda

Red Pandas are endangered mainly due to habitat loss and fragmentation. 98% of their diet consists of bamboo and pandas are exposed to other threats when they have to cross unsuitable habitat to find new stands of bamboo. Red Pandas are also susceptible to canine distemper which is fatal to them. As more people, particularly herders, encroach Red Panda habitat, contact between domestic dogs (and their excreta) and Red Pandas increases. Hunting for the pet trade seems to be increasing as they are “cute” and endearing creatures.

Red Panda

On our last day in the reserve, permission to enter early was granted and we drove to the top of the road. Our driver who had never been to Labahe before spotted our third Red Panda near the top of the road! This was the highest elevation that Roland had ever seen a Red Panda at. This individual wasn’t as obliging as the previous two and climbed down the tree and disappeared in the thick understory of bamboo.

Red Panda

We walked back down the road when suddenly Phil spotted a second Red Panda! It was “Snippy”, the panda with the missing right ear that we had seen yesterday. It was our fourth Red Panda sighting of at least three different individuals. It was great to see the pandas doing well despite the amount of human encroachment going on. As long as large tracks of forests are kept intact and people and their dogs stick to the main road, Red Pandas have a chance of surviving here.

Red Panda (Snippy)

We walked back to our bus parked at the entrance to the “zip-line road" and decided to walk to the end of the road. It was a good decision as Cathy spotted a Forest Musk Deer quite close and we got our best view yet of this hard-to-see species. Like the Red Panda, the Forest Musk Deer is endangered. It is hunted for its highly prized musk used in cosmetics.

Forest Musk Deer

We opted to walk back to the hotel and encountered some Tibetan Macaques forging naturally off the road. However further down we saw a Chinese woman being accosted by a macaque. She had food and the macaque wanted it. He grabbed her shirt and she ended up tossing her food just to get the monkey away from her. We walked past at a safe distance but the macaque bared his teeth showing his ferocious canines. Feeding the macaques makes them aggressive and dangerous. There was a sign posted along the road about not feeding them. One of the last sentences said, “if you are bitten, don’t panic, wash the wound and go to your doctor for a rabies shot”. Very disconcerting! 

Tibetan Macaque

We went for a final night walk on our own not seeing much so we headed back to the hotel. We ran into some of our group heading out for a late night drive so we joined them. I spotted a Leopard Cat sitting on the side of the road! The cat moved off before Marc could get a photo but it was our best view of a Leopard Cat yet. We also saw Masked Palm Civet, Red and White Flying Squirrel, Chinese Goral, and Sambar.

Masked Palm Civet

Red and White Flying Squirrel

The next morning we left Labahe for the long drive to Tangjiahe Nature Reserve. Despite the amount of development going on at Labahe, wildlife including some endangered species appear to be hanging on. Hopefully, the Chinese government will realize that tourists come to Labahe to enjoy the natural beauty of the area and to see mammals that are becoming increasingly difficult to find elsewhere.

Fall Foliage

Given enough space to feed, breed and find shelter most animals will do just fine. It is our sincere hope that Labahe Nature Reserve will continue to provide a safe haven for China’s Red Pandas and other amazing wildlife for many years to come!

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map:

Red Pandamonium!

Greetings All,

Our travels have brought us to India in search of the elusive Fishing Cat.  I was expecting to go deep into the mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans, far from human encroachment, to find these mainly nocturnal, solitary cats but instead we headed for the suburbs of Kolkata!  How could such a secretive animal live among 14 million people that inhabit Kolkata and the surrounding areas?  We were soon to find out.  We drove about 10 miles to the northwest of Kolkata where we met Bappa, a local man who has been studying and protecting Fishing Cats in this area.  The plan was to set up a hide next to one of the ponds in the area and wait for the cats to come and fish.

Typical Pond

 

I was a bit apprehensive as Avi, our trip leader, warned that leeches, venomous snakes and mosquitoes also inhabit these areas.  He provided us with leech socks made of nylon and extending to the knee to keep the leeches at bay.  Now what about the snakes?  Avi explained that you could hear the Russel's Vipers approach but that the Banded Kraits were more of a problem.  They were silent and their bite feels more like an ant string.  By the time you realize you've been bitten, it's too late.  "Great", I thought.  We walked through a small banana plantation to a small pond where a hide had been set up.

On our Way to the Hide

It looked mostly enclosed.  I was a bit reluctant to get in but the local guides assured me that there were no leeches and no snakes.  Avi helped Marc set up his camera outside the hide on a tripod.  A slit had been cut through the mosquito netting so Marc could operate the camera and flash from inside the hide.  Now all we had to do was to wait for a cat to show up around dusk.

Marc in the Hide

We sat in silence for 3 hours not moving too much.  As dusk approached the Muslim call to prayers wailed over a loudspeaker from the nearby village.  The Golden Jackals howled a response but no Fishing Cats appeared.  I switched my headlamp to red so I could scan for snakes in the dark and fortunately there were none.  It became too dark to see so we brought out our night vision monocular.  It didn't work well through the mosquito net so if there was a Fishing Cat out there we'd never see it.  The guys came to retrieve us at 7:00 PM.  We'd try again early the next morning.

We returned to the site around 4:00 AM, scanning a few ponds on the way in but not seeing any cats.  A few jackals were scavenging around the village garbage dumps.  We entered the hide waiting for dawn.  Bappa came to retrieve us around 7:00 AM and told us he had seen a Fishing Cat on the way in.  We weren't so lucky.  As we were returning to our van, Avi got a call that a fishing cat had run out while the guys were taking down our hide!  This was getting down right exasperating.  We'd try again for a third and final time this evening.

On our final attempt for the Fishing Cat,  the pond was visited by a greater Coucal and a Pond Heron but sadly a Fishing Cat did not show up.

 

A Greater Coucal  Paid us a Visit

Bappa excitedly arrived around 7:00 PM and told us to hurry up, a fishing cat had been found!  We raced off in our van to a village where some locals met us and led the way to a nearby pond.  One guy said to wait 15 minutes and the cat would appear.  I was a bit skeptical but sure enough a male fishing cat appeared on the bank of the pond.  By this time the whole village was out to see the cat or maybe the crazy foreigners with their fancy cameras.  The cat hung around long enough for Marc to get photos.  

Male Fishing Cat!

Male Fishing Cat!

By this time the crowd had become too large and boisterous so the fishing cat left.  This was the craziest cat encounter we've ever had!  

After our successful encounter with a Fishing Cat we turned our attention to searching for the seriously cute Red Panda.  To find the pandas we had to fly from Kolkata to Bagdogra to the north.  From here we drove to the border town of Kankarbhitta to check in with the authorities.  The town was jam packed with trucks, buses, rickshaws, motorbikes and people.  It was more chaotic than Kolkata.  

Kankarbhitta

We had to check in with the local immigration authorities in India and Nepal.  We needed to be able to cross the border when looking for Red Pandas to the north - except there were no border crossings in that area.   After bouncing between the Indian and Nepal border stations a couple of times we got the necessary authorizations in our passports.

Finally we were on on way.  As we drove higher it became cloudy and colder.  It was dark by the time we reached the foreigner check in office at Maney Bhanjang and a further 15 minute drive brought us to our guesthouse in Chitray.  The next day we transferred to jeeps for the bone jarring drive to Singalila National Park.  The park lies along the border between India and Nepal under the looming Kanchenjunga Range.  

Kanchenjunga Range from Singalila Ridge.  

Here a large tract of rhododendron, oak, and bamboo forest has been preserved as prime Red Panda habitat.  Our first day of searching yielded no pandas but some nice birds.  

Blue-fronted Redstart

Black-faced Laughingttrush

On our second day of searching we investigated a tract of forest beyond the village of Kayakatta where Avi had seen pandas on a trip last October.  Sure enough, a beautiful female Red Panda was sleeping high up in an oak tree not far from the road.  

Female Red Panda!

The Red Panda is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China.  It most closely resembles a raccoon but is not related to them.  In fact the red panda is the only living species of the genus Ailurus and the family Ailuridae.  Its wild population is estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals and continues to decline due to habitat loss and poaching.  They feed mainly on bamboo and acorns but are omnivorous as they also eat eggs, birds, insects, and small mammals.

We returned to the same spot which we had dubbed "Panda Corner" the following day to see if the Red Panda was still there.  She had moved off but a large male was sleeping in a nearby tree!  Marc got a few good photos before the thick fog moved in making viewing and photography difficult.

Male Red Panda!

Avi got a call that 3 pandas had been spotted by the entrance to the park!  We raced off to see them.  When we arrived one of the trackers met us and led us down a steep path.  Lo and behold there were 3 pandas, a beautiful female with 2 nearly grown cubs.  Marc took many photos of the cubs playing with each other and mom.

Red Panda Cubs!

We watched them for about 45 minutes until they climbed down from the tree and disappeared into the forest.  We returned to the lodge to have a beer by the warm fire thrilled with our amazing encounters with the Red Pandas.

The next two days we searched for Red Pandas in Nepal.  In a small village not far from the border, the Red Panda Network operates tours from here.  To learn more about Red Pandas and how you can help go to:

Red Panda Network 

We didn't find the Red Pandas in this area but on the way back to our lodge we spotted some beautiful birds near Kayakatta.  

Male Kalij Pheasant

Spotted Laughingthrush

On our final day in the park we headed down the same trail near the entrance to look for the Red Panda family.  When we got to the bottom, the 2 trackers had not found them.  We were about to head down further when the trackers spotted them in a tree just behind us.  We had a pretty good vantage point but the trackers and another group had found a spot above.  

Red Panda Family!

Avi said the view wasn't much better above so we stayed below.  Finally we moved up to where they were.  The 2 cubs had come down to feed on the bamboo at eye level!

One of the Red Panda Cubs Eating Bamboo

Shortly after we arrived, the 2 cubs climbed down and took off followed by their mother. 

Female Red Panda

What a thrilling time spent with the Red Pandas!  We hope that the governments of India and Nepal will continue to protect these docile and endangered mammals and their fragile forest habitat.

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc 

Our Route: