Nine Red Pandas Rescued Amid Myanmar Trafficking Surge

Nine endangered red pandas have been rescued from wildlife traffickers in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region, highlighting a troubling rise in illegal animal trade since the country’s 2021 military coup.

The animals were intercepted on 14 September by a People’s Defense Force (PDF) unit in Indaw Township, near the Kachin-Sagaing border. Smugglers were reportedly transporting them by vehicle when resistance forces intervened.

Following the rescue, Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) transferred the red pandas to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), whose Forest and Environmental Protection Department is now caring for them. The pandas are expected to be released back into the wild once deemed fit.

In a statement issued Monday, the NUG’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation praised the KIO’s efforts and called for stronger cooperation to safeguard Myanmar’s biodiversity. Red pandas, native to high-altitude forests in northern Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Nepal, have seen their global population fall below 10,000 due to poaching and habitat loss. They’ve been classified as endangered by the IUCN since 2015.

In Myanmar, red pandas are found only in Kachin State and are protected under national conservation law, which strictly prohibits their trade. Yet conservation groups, including the World Wildlife Fund, warn that trafficking has surged amid the country’s post-coup instability and weakened law enforcement.

Many red pandas are smuggled to China and Thailand, where demand for exotic wildlife remains high. Yangon Zoo, one of the few places in Myanmar where the species can be seen in captivity, recently received four more red pandas from Kachin, including a pair named Mi Mi and Maung Maung.

The rescue operation has drawn attention to the growing threat facing Myanmar’s rare wildlife, and the urgent need for coordinated conservation efforts in the face of political turmoil.

-2025-09-25