Chapter 12 - A Brief History of the Red Panda in Captivity

Abstract

This chapter presents history of red panda in captivity. The first known specimen to have arrived alive at a zoological collection outside its native land, was that acquired by London Zoo on 22 May, 1869. It was the sole survivor of a group of three collected earlier that year near Darjeeling. It died on 12 December, 1869 and was followed eight years later by a second individual which arrived on 16 February, 1876. This animal fared better and survived until 17 May, 1881. With the exception of these two animals and one noted as living at the Calcutta Zoo in 1877, there is no record of any other red panda in captivity until Philadelphia Zoo brought the first one to America in 1906. In the period between 1908 and 1940 fewer than 50 red pandas were brought into captivity and these were held in a mere handful of the world's zoos. In addition to these, Crandall notes that a female which had arrived pregnant gave birth to two young at the small zoo in Darjeeling in May, 1908. Further births also occurred in Calcutta in 1919 and in London Zoo in 1919, 1920, and 1921. These appear to be the only instances of captive births occurring prior to 1940. The lifespan of red panda in captivity was relatively short. However, the longevity of pandas in many collections is uncertain.