Red Pandas

Commended Entry: "Read Pandas: What If It Was Your Home?" by Khyati Samnani from India

This article was submitted in the Kids World Travel Guide Essay Competition 2023 in the Junior Category 8 - 11 years.

What if it was your home?

My nest is demolished and my family is fragmented. Being a red panda, today, means to be extinct tomorrow. I see the trees in my home, Nepal being cut by you, humans who just want to quench their thirst for increased products. It is hard to find my favorite food, bamboo in this razed jungle. Sometimes I pass through many villages in search of bamboo but what I find is my ancestors’ skin hanging from the doorknob of every hut. I am a simple animal whose habitat the humans are demolishing. I am here to tell you what my family and I have been through.

Before humans started to cause uproar in my jungle, my family and I groggily slept on the towering trees that bore rich fruits. We hunted for food, but our favorite treat was always bamboo. We were free to roam wherever we wanted to, and the humans were content living in their own place. Little by little, humans wanted more products using our habitat, our skin, and even our blood. You humans started fracturing our nests to increase the land you wanted. Our hope of living peacefully and dreams of the future started disappearing from our eyes.

It has been a year, and our population has already declined by 40%. We see our fellows’ skin being used for caps, belts and to ward off evil spirits, but who really is evil here? Do you even care about us? What about our population? We, too, have a voice if you can hear. We, too, have emotions.

Before humans started causing chaos in our territory, we did not have a care in the world. All we cared about was the kind of food we were going to eat. Ever since then, we have worried about the welfare of the family, our habitat and our food. Humans thwart us of our dreams, even though we did not do anything to them.

Habitat loss is not the only thing causing our decline, but we also cannot tolerate the rising temperatures due to global warming. Whatever is said and done, humans can still help us! We are not yet extinct.

Many rescue centers around the world adopt us and take care of us, WWF being our biggest support. We urge you to put up more rescue centers! States like Sikkim host the Red Panda Festival- be a part of these, and know more about us. Save us! Stop destroying our habitats and be happy with what you have got!

"Only if you understand can you care. Only if you care will you help. Only if you help, all shall be saved." - Jane Goodall.

Congratulations on your essay "What if it was your home?", Khyati! What an amazing strong plea to understand, care for and save our planet! Very well done! Thank you!

Khyati Samnani attends the Shri Ram School in Gurgaon/ India. English as Second Language. Home Language is Hindi.