The red panda Ailurus fulgens is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by anthropogenic pressures such as livestock grazing. We surveyed people living in or near protected areas and people living away from protected areas in Nepal, to understand human attitudes towards red panda conservation. Given Nepal's participatory approach to managing protected areas, we hypothesized that local people living in or near protected areas would have more positive attitudes towards red panda conservation than those in non-protected areas. Ninety percent of the 142 respondents had positive attitudes, with people living in or near protected areas expressing less positive attitudes than those in non-protected areas. Despite this difference between protected and non-protected areas, people were generally positive towards red panda conservation. However, positive attitudes did not necessarily translate to sustainable resource-use behaviour. We found there was a high prevalence of both livestock grazing and livestock disease in red panda habitat. We suggest that alternative farming practices (e.g. stall-feeding of livestock) and awareness programmes (e.g. education on the conservation status and legal protection of red pandas, and livestock–wildlife disease transmission) could be important tools to improve conservation attitudes and protect red pandas in Nepal.

Across much of Asia protected areas have a dual objective of conserving biodiversity and supporting rural and indigenous livelihoods. For the red panda Ailurus fulgens and other sensitive species of concern, even limited anthropogenic disturbance may influence their use of protected areas. We quantified the prevalence of timber collection and livestock grazing, and their impacts on red panda habitat use, in Phrumsengla National Park, Bhutan. Red pandas used sites with at least 20% bamboo cover, as evidenced by presence of their faecal pellets. They avoided sites disturbed by livestock, regardless of bamboo availability. Timber collection itself was not an important predictor of red panda presence but bamboo may be harvested opportunistically from sites where timber is collected. Conservation efforts for the red panda should not rely on protected areas alone but should explicitly consider and mitigate impacts of anthropogenic disturbances in protected areas.

The Vulnerable red panda Ailurus fulgens is endemic to the Himalayas. Anthropogenic activities, including deforestation, have degraded the species’ habitat but the effects of livestock have not been examined. We assessed the effects of illegal livestock activity on the presence of the red panda in Rara National Park, Nepal. The probability of detecting red panda faecal pellets decreased with livestock occurrence but not with elevation or aspect. The presence of bamboo and proximity to water are important to red pandas but did not influence their habitat use at the spatial resolution evaluated. Livestock grazing in Rara National Park appears to adversely affect the presence of the red panda within its habitat. To reduce illegal livestock grazing we recommend enforcement of existing regulations, that training workshops be held for herders, and awareness-raising and dialogue with residents.

The red panda Ailurus fulgens is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Pressurized by an expanding human population, it is mainly threatened by habitat destruction, with < 10,000 mature individuals remaining. The red panda has been studied in India, China, Nepal and, to a lesser extent, Myanmar, but no research has been published on this species in Bhutan. Here, we report on the current distribution and conservation status of the red panda in Bhutan using information gathered from field surveys, interviews and unpublished reports. Red pandas are most common at 2,400–3,700 m altitude in fir Abies densa forests with an undergrowth of bamboo. They occur in most national parks and associated biological corridors within Bhutan's protected area network, overlapping with a rural human population that is undergoing increased socio-economic development. Although culturally respected, red pandas face threats from road construction, harvesting of timber, bamboo and minor forest products, livestock grazing, inefficiently managed tourism, and domestic dogs. We believe conservation of red pandas in Bhutan requires (1) inclusion of ecologically sound principles into future development, (2) implementation of programmes that improve rural socio-economy through ecotourism and cultivation of appropriate cash crops, (3) development of education programmes that raise awareness of red pandas for rural people, (4) management of rural dog populations, (5) greater capacity building for wildlife managers, and (6) more ecological research.

The current status and distribution of the red panda Ailurus fulgens in the wild is poorly known. The subspecies fulgens is found in the Himalaya in Nepal, India, Bhutan, northern Myanmar and southwest China, and the subspecies styani occurs further to the east in south-central China. The red panda is an animal of subtropical and temperate forests, with the exception of Meghalaya in India, where it is also found in tropical forests. In the wild, red pandas take a largely vegetarian diet consisting chiefly of bamboo. The extent of occurrence of the red panda in India is about 170,000 sq km, although its area of occupancy within this may only be about 25,000 sq km. An estimate based on the lowest recorded average density and the total area of potential habitat suggests that the global population of red pandas is about 16,000–20,000. Habitat loss and poaching, in that order, are the major threats. In this paper the distribution, status and conservation problems of the red panda, especially in India, are reviewed, and appropriate conservation measures recommended, including the protection of named areas and the extension of some existing protected areas.

Nutrient use by the red panda Ailurus fulgens was measured in animals fed only on their natural bamboo Bashania spanostachya diet. The project was carried out at the field observation station of Yele Natural Reserve in Sichuan, China. Two-week long trials were conducted at monthly intervals from May to November 1995. Results showed that dry matter digestibility differed significantly among seasons and between diets. Digestibilities of dry matter and key nutrients were high in summer–autumn, intermediate in spring and low in winter. Shoots were more easily digested than leaves and exhibited the highest digestibility. These variations were positively correlated with nutrient contents in bamboo. The results also indicated that the red panda poorly processed its bamboo food. This was demonstrated by the lower digestion coefficients of dry matter and nutrients, especially that of cell wall constituents. This implied that microbial digestion only played a minor role in its digestive strategy, similar to the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca, another herbivorous carnivore. In addition, the transit of bamboo through the red panda gut was very rapid (2–4 h). In order to survive on this poor-quality diet, it seems that the red panda has to select high-quality items of bamboo such as tender leaves and shoots. These are ingested in large quantities (over 1.5 kg of fresh leaves and 4 kg of fresh shoots daily) that pass through the digestive tract fairly rapidly so as to maximize nutrient intake.