Join us for International Red Panda Day (IRPD) 2022 and our 15-year anniversary to protect red pandas from poachers and restore their forest habitat!

Who came first: the red panda or the giant panda? We'll give you a hint — it's the same panda that is also, unfortunately, the endangered panda.

That's right, red pandas are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List and there may be as few as 2,500 remaining in the wild. Deforestation, as well as poaching, are threatening the future of the first panda.

Design by Sripriya Prasad

In Nepal, red panda habitat is fragmented into 400 small forest patches. 70% of their habitat lies outside of protected areas in either Community Forests or private land. Forests are fragmented as they are converted to farmland and settlement and degraded by unsustainable livestock grazing and resource harvest by local communities.

The red pandas who remain in these "habitat islands" are threatened by an unprecedented rise in red panda poaching in Nepal, driven by poverty, misinformation, and exacerbated by the pandemic.

How are we responding to these threats? Through community-based reforestation and anti-poaching programs! Our Plant A Red Panda Home campaign plants trees and reforests core habitat to create a continuous wildlife corridor for red pandas and other threatened wildlife in Nepal. We are also committed to educating communities, providing alternative income and sustainable livelihood opportunities, and enhancing the capacity of local and national level law enforcement agencies on anti-poaching investigation skills. Our goal is No Panda Poaching in eastern Nepal's Panchthar-Ilam-Taplejung (PIT) corridor!

And we know we can make a difference because the red panda population is improving in the areas we are working in eastern Nepal!

This year, we have planted 84,787 trees in Nepal (28,632 in the western districts and 56,155 in Jaubari, eastern Nepal), bringing us to 336,380 trees planted in red panda habitat since the campaign began in 2019! This encouraging progress is made possible by your support. We also now have 12 anti-poaching networks in Nepal!

Thanks to you, they will not become the forgotten panda. We will save the last of the first panda!

Learn more about our work in this film narrated by Sir David Attenborough for the 2022 Whitley Awards!

Here's how you can help:

Start A Fundraiser - click on the 'Fundraise' button at the top of the page to start a campaign in minutes. Check out our IRPD 2022 fundraising toolkit for everything you need to fundraise for the first panda. The team member who raises the most funds will win awesome prizes. And thanks to our First Panda Challenger, Scentbird, all campaign gifts up to $3,500 are being matched 1:1!

Organize an Event - Work with the zoo, school, or business you work at or attend to celebrate this important day for education and conservation. Register your event here and be sure to check out the IRPD 2022 Activity Book designed by Darby Minter!

Become a Red Panda Ranger - This is a fun and educational opportunity for kids to help us raise red panda awareness They will receive a badge for every level they complete and an official certificate when they finish all five levels!

Spread The Word - tell your friends and family on social media why you love red pandas and why you are celebrating IRPD 2022! Include a fact banner (designed by Laura Finnegan!) in our post and include these hashtags: #IRPD2022 #NoPandaPoaching #PlantARedPandaHome

Join the Fifteen for the First Panda video challenge! Share your love for red pandas in 15 seconds or less to win great prizes and be featured in our IRPD 2022/ 15-year anniversary campaign video!

Need more inspiration for IRPD outreach? Learn about red pandas on our facts webpage or factsheet or read 15 Fantastic Facts About Red Pandas

Thank you to the zoos and schools around the world for helping us to celebrate IRPD 2022!
Wish to add your organization? Let us know here.

Akron Zoo, Akron, OH, USA
Assiniboine Park Conservancy & Zoo, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines, IA, USA
We plan to celebrate the day with educational activities and games.
Charles Paddock Zoo, Atascadero, CA, USA
Come celebrate International Red Panda day at the Charles Paddock Zoo on September 17th. Learn more about these extraordinary animals! We will have fun activities throughout the day, including a Red Panda Zookeeper talk.
Colchester Zoo, Colchester, Essex, England
Dierenrijk - Stichting Wildlife, Mierlo, Noord- Brabant, Netherlands
IRPD in Dierenrijk, find us at the panda enclosure.
Flamingo Land, Kirby Misperton, Malton, North Yorkshire, England
Giardino Zoologico di Pistoia, Pistoia, PT, Italy
Green Bay AAZK, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
Greensboro Science Center, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
Join us on Saturday, September 17 from 10 – 2 pm to celebrate IRPD. Participate in our scavenger hunt by taking a stroll through Revolution Ridge and see if you can spot our red panda icons – each one shares a fun fact about red pandas! You can also stop by educational tables located along the path between the Shearer Animal Hospital and Conservation Center and the red panda exhibit. Here you can find out more about their adaptations, diet, and conservation efforts – you can even try your hand at walking like a red panda! Paintings created by our very own red pandas will be available for purchase, with proceeds going toward red panda conservation.
Greenville Zoo, Greenville, SC, USA
Hemker Park & Zoo, Freeport, Minnesota, USA
Hemker Park & Zoo will be celebrating International Red Panda Day on Saturday, Sept. 17th!
Kumamoto City Zoo and Botanical Garden, Kumamoto City, Japan
Lake District Wildlife Park, Keswick, Cumbria, England
L'espace Zoologique Saint Martin-La-Plaine, Saint-Martin-la-Plaine, France
Ogrod Zoologiczny, Opole, Poland
Omuta City Zoo, Omuta, Fukuoka, Japan
Naturschutz-Tierpark Görlitz, Goerlitz, Saxony, Germany
Paradise Wildlife Park, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England
On the weekend of the 20th and 21st August for Red Panda Awareness Paradise Wildlife Park will be holding a very special Red Panda Weekend. This weekend will be dedicated to celebrating all Red Panda's whilst raising vital funds and awareness for the Red Panda Network. This weekend will be part of your general admissions ticket and you will not require an additional ticket to enjoy our animal weekend.
Parc Animalier d'Auvergne, Ardes, France
Parc Merveilleux, Bettembourg, Luxembourg
Parc de Cleres, Clères, France
Parco Faunistico La Torbiera, Agrate Conturbia, Italy
We are waiting for you on Saturday 17th September to celebrate the international day of the red panda
Pueblo Zoo, Pueblo, CO, USA
Reserve Zoologique de la Haute Touche, Azay-le-Ferron, France
Ross Park Zoo, Binghamton, NY, USA
During IRPD there will be animal spotlights on the Red Panda and current conservation work from Red Panda Network. In the evening there will be a lantern festival, Illumination for Conservation. This festival highlights red pandas as one of our zoo's endangered species, and a corresponding conservation organization to raise funds.
Rotterdam Zoo, Rotterdam, Nederland
Saitama Children's Zoo, Higashimatsuyama, Saitama, Japan
Safaripark Beekse Bergen - Stichting Wildlife, Hilvarenbeek, Noord Brabant, Netherlands
IRPD in Beekse Bergen, find us at the panda enclosure.
South Lakes Safari Zoo, Ulverston, Cumbria, United Kingdom
Symbio Wildlife Park, Helensburgh, NSW, Australia
Terres de Natae, Pont-Scorff, France
Woburn Safari Park, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
We are hosting an outreach programme with the school children in Kolkata, West Bengal. We are working with "Shibrampur Madhyamik High School for Girls" where the team of ZSI will spread red panda conservation and awareness by viewing a red panda documentary, distributing flyers, pamphlets, and knowledge products with the school children and faculty members. The research undertaken by ZSI in the last five years will be discussed and translated into a language that can be readily understood by school children.
Zoo d'Amiens, Amiens, France
Zoo de La Boissiere-du-Dore, La Boissière-du-Doré, France
Zoo de Lille, Lille, France
Zoo Dortmund, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
We will conduct our Red Panda Day on September 18th
Zoo Duisburg, Duisburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Zoo Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
Zoo Montana, Billings, Montana, USA
This year will be our third celebration of International Red Panda Day. All day we will be providing educational resources about Red Panda conservation for our guests. Along with Animal Care Staff chats about red panda care, conservation, and even some fun games to play. All proceeds made from our celebration will go directly to Red Panda Network!
Zoo Wrocław, Wrocław, Dolnośląskie, Polska

International Red Panda Day 2022

Protect. Restore. Celebrate!

Team Members