Escaped panda dies in the wild

Published on Monday 5 October 2009 21:58

A RARE red panda which survived for 19 months in the wild after escaping from a Scottish wildlife park has died.

Mother and cub, Pichu and Isla, went missing from the Galloway Wildlife Park in Kirkcudbright in February 2008.

Pichu was discovered two months later barely two miles from her enclosure, on a tree branch in a field.

However, Isla was only found last week. A woman discovered her injured on the side of the road between Kippford and Dalbeattie, but the panda died later of a severe head injury.

John Denerley, conservation manager at the park, said: "Amazingly, Isla survived in the wild for such a long period and was in good condition since she escaped in February 2008.

"We are devastatingly upset over her death."

He said that the twin young red pandas born at the park earlier this year are doing well.

A police search was launched for Pichur and Isla when they escaped on the night of 7 February 2008 after a tree, which fell during a storm, broke part of a fence at the wildlife park.

Pichu was found more than two months later after a farmer spotted her sitting on the upper branches of a tree about two miles from where she disappeared.

It is believed she survived on fruit, berries and lichens in the surrounding woodland. Pichu was on loan from Curraghs Wildlife Park on the Isle of Man for a breeding programme.

The red panda, Ailurus fulgens (shining cat), is slightly larger than a domestic cat. There are fewer than 2,500 mature red pandas in the world due to increasing encroachment on their native forest habitat. They are classified as vulnerable in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' Red List.

They are also hunted for their fur, especially their tails, and red panda hats are used as a good-luck charm for Chinese newlyweds. They are native to the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Laos, Burma and southern China.