Millie, the RED PANDA that has returned in the logo and as the mascot of the Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival next month

Darjeeling, Nov. 17: Millie is back and the cuddly red panda whose new-found freedom was cut short by a leopard will be seen on all banners, posters, festoons and placards as the mascot of the tea festival next month.

Millie and Sweetie had got global attention when they became the first pair of red pandas born in captivity to be released in the wild.

Sweetie continues to roam the Singalila wildlife sanctuary and may be further but five-year-old Millie was mauled to death by a leopard in 2003, a few months after its release from the zoo in Darjeeling.

The organisers of the Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival, to be held from December 20 to January 5 next year, have decided to bring back Millie by making it the mascot of the festival.

Darjeeling deputy magistrate and co-coordinator of the festival, Sonam Bhutia, said: “During our research we found that Millie and Sweetie were the most celebrated red panda. The red panda could actually symbolise the pristine glory of Darjeeling and hence we decided to christen our mascot Millie—the Panda.”

The mascot and the logo for the fest were chosen from among 150 entries. “We had organised a competition and the mascot was made by Rabin Chhetri from Darjeeling and the logo by Bikash Pal from Siliguri. They have won a cash award of Rs 5,000 each. They will also be felicitated during the festival,” said Uday Mani Pradhan, the convener of the festival committee.

Wildlife experts recalled how Millie had worked hard to gain freedom. It was after carefully observing the 22 red pandas in captivity and their genetic analysis so that the offsprings are healthy that Millie and Sweetie were selected.

They were taught to be independent including fending for their own food so that there was very little human imprints for easy acceptance in the wild. Later the red pandas were sent to an enclosure at Gairibas within the Singalila sanctuary for six months so that they could acclimatise in a controlled environment.

Satisfied with their progress the authorities of the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park released them in the wild after tagging them with radio-collars. “Sweetie even gave birth to a cub and later we decided that it was no longer necessary to monitor her. Millie, however, was mauled by a clouded leopard,” said A.K. Jha, director of the zoo.

Under Project Red Panda, the Darjeeling zoo started releasing the animals in the wild in 1999. After the successful release of Millie and Sweetie, the zoo let out Neelam and Doma in 2004.

Sweetie and Millie’s story was documented as Cherub of the Mist by wildlife filmmakers Ajay and Vijay Bedi. The film created history of sorts by bagging 11 international awards, including the Green Oscar. The success of release continues to inspire the Darjeeling zoo which is doing its bit to conserve red pandas, one of the endangered species categorised in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

“At the moment we have 10 male and five female red pandas. We are also in the process of exchanging a male panda for a female from Adelaide zoo in Australia in the next four to five months,” said Jha. He added that a survey was being carried out on the red pandas in the Singalila and the Neora Valley wildlife sanctuaries to look into the prospect of releasing more animals in the wild.

TT