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February 05, 2026
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This photo features the Hkakaborazi National Park – a habitat for Myanmar’s red pandas. Photo: Hkakaborazi National Park
An estimated 10,000 red pandas remain worldwide, with the species inhabiting the icy mountain ranges of northern Myanmar.
The red panda, a rare species with an estimated global population of only around 10,000 individuals, is found in Myanmar alone among ASEAN countries and inhabits the glacial mountain regions of northern Myanmar.
Red pandas, which are mammals, are found in Myanmar as well as in China, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Conservation efforts to prevent their extinction are mainly undertaken in China and India. Around 50 years ago, approximately 40 per cent of the red panda population in the western Himalayan regions died as a result of illegal hunting, largely caused by humans and snow leopards.
“Many red pandas are living in the PutaO mountain ranges. Sometimes they are seen being brought for sale in Myitkyina. Local people in that area do not rear red pandas; they eat meat. However, red panda meat is not widely sold in markets – only consumed locally. In China, red panda conservation programmes are carried out, but demand still exists for medicinal use, for hanging the skins, or for use as floor coverings. As a result, they are purchased along the border, and hunters sell them. Therefore, it is necessary to protect and conserve the rare red panda species, which is found only in Myanmar among ASEAN countries, to prevent its extinction,” said U Han Saw Htun, an animal welfare advocate from Myitkyina.
Red pandas tend to live close to water sources and prefer steep forested mountains where bamboo groves grow. Experts estimate that red pandas spread across Eurasia and North America between 18 and 25 million years ago, similar to now-extinct related species.
Covered in reddish-brown fur, red pandas are difficult to spot. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed them as a rare species facing the risk of extinction, with only about 10,000 individuals remaining worldwide. They are most commonly found in the eastern Himalayan region, south-western China, and the glacial mountains of northern Myanmar. As mammals, they are the only surviving species of their entire family. Although classified as carnivores, red pandas mainly feed on young bamboo leaves, similar to giant pandas, and also consume birds, bird eggs and insects. — Thitsa (MNA)/MKKS
