Tigers and Red Panda

Tigers and Red Pandas

India is full of wonderful species waiting to be seen and appreciated; undoubtedly one of the cutest creatures of them all is the Red Panda. It is also the only true “panda” species in the world; the Giant Panda is actually a bear.
The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body and thick russet fur. The belly and limbs are black, and there are white markings on the side of the head and above its small eyes.

Red pandas were once thought to be closely related to the giant panda, but genetics has shown they are more closely allied with the raccoon and weasel families. They are secretive and gentle creatures, spending most of the day sleeping curled up with their tail wrapped around their head.

Red pandas are very skilful and acrobatic animals that predominantly stay in trees. Almost 50% of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas in dense forest and bamboo thickets in elevations ranging from 6,000 – 12,000 feet.
These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft. When foraging, they are most active at night as well as in the gloaming hours of dusk and dawn. Red pandas have a taste for bamboo but also eat many other foods as well—fruit, acorns, roots, and eggs.

Our safari take you to two states in India – West Bengal in eastern India to Singalila National Park and to Madhya Pradesh in Central India to Kanha Tiger Reserve. The regions differ vastly in the terrain, birdlife as well as mammalian life forms.

Singalila National Park is one of the most exotic Himalayan forests in India. It is a wilderness located on the Singalila Ridge at an altitude of 7000 feet to 12000 feet above sea level with an area of 78.6 square kilometers.
This is a birding paradise as well. More than 300 species of birds have been recorded here. It has a huge list of exotic birds.

There are an estimated 32 Red Pandas within the limits of Singalila. Apart from the Red Panda, other mammals found here are- Himalayan Black bear, Clouded Leopard, Leopard, Leopard Cat, Himalayan Serow, Barking Deer, Yellow-throated Marten, Wild Boar, Pangolin, Pika and many other Eastern Himalayan exotics.

Kanha on the other hand is excellent for exploring the deciduous central Indian jungles. Of course the highlight of this region is the Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Asiatic Wild Dogs along with a huge diversity of birds that are quite different to the ones that you find in Singalila.