Kung Fu’ red pandas settle into new Laos sanctuary
MUNCHING on bamboo and lazing under a fan spraying cooling mist, “Jackie Chan” is in a relaxed mood, one of three red pandas once destined for the exotic wildlife trade but now instead settling into a new home in a leafy Laos sanctuary.
Munching on bamboo and lazing under a fan spraying cooling mist, “Jackie Chan” is in a relaxed mood, one of three red pandas once destined for the exotic wild-life trade but now instead settling into a new home in a leafy Laos sanctuary.
The three animals, nicknamed Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Peace, were among six found stuffed into crates during a random check of a van traveling from China over the border into northern Laos in January.
Dehydrated and lacking food, three died within days, while the survivors were taken to a sanctuary run by the non-profit Free the Bears in the hills around the tourist hotspot of Luang Prabang. It was “very very hard” to save the three who perished, says Sengaloun Vongsay, Laos programme manager for Free the Bears.
It was the first discovery of red pandas in Laos, experts said, fueling fears the endangered species may be the latest targets of the illegal pet industry, coveted for their shiny copper fur and “cute” appearance.
“They’re eating well, they’re generally pretty relaxed,” said Michelle Walhout Tanneau, operations manager for Free the Bears.
Landlocked Laos is a key transit hub in the illegal and lucrative global trade in wildlife, sharing borders with Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
In January Thai authorities arrested Boonchai Bach, a Vietnamese national with Thai citizenship and an alleged kingpin in Asia’s illegal wildlife trade, for rhino horn trafficking. — AFP