A Minute in the Trees

Natural History of the Red Panda

In red panda country, the sub-alpine Himalayan chill of winter is starting to dwindle. Spring has sprung. Right now, red pandas are beginning to move around more than they dared to a few months back. It’s almost as if the world has become more interesting to them. To be precise, the world, to a red panda, is beginning to look more edible. If we were to weigh a wild red panda today we would find his or her weight at an annual low – 15% less than average. This drop reflects the dietary slump that the forests perpetuate from autumn through early spring. The jhapra bamboo leaves are markedly more mature in these seasons, proving to be difficult for the red panda to digest. Usually, the red panda enjoys a strict diet of young shoots and leaves, grazing for as many as 13 hours in a single day. As new shoots and bamboo leaves begin to emerge, one can imagine a red panda version of giddiness. But still, the spring is young. The preservation of energy is still vital. The nights will come when the pickings are peaking, but for now the red panda must continue to conserve energy and sleep through the days bundled tightly in that bushy red tail.

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Eco Trip 2007

Vacation. Vacate: to empty. Just the thought alone is enough to make most people sigh out loud. As our eyes blur into the gleaming aura of computer screens, as our backs fill with the pressures of the grind, becoming taut, as our hopes for inner peace and adventure seem to slip from reality, we become despondent. Right now, in this moment, we invite you to release all of that.

Start planning for your journey to Nepal in December 2007! Visualize an experience which takes you through ancient Buddhist and Hindu treasures tucked back in the Kathmandu Valley. See yourself playing and relaxing at the foot of the Himalayas. Gaze directly at Mt. Everest and other unbelievable top-of-the-world peaks. Cleanse your soul with the freshest cup of tea you have ever sipped, then walk out into the tea plantation and into a forest of rhododendrons and mysterious awe. Try, for yourself, to find a wild red panda. It sounds unbelievable, but it’s an adventure that’s available to you.

This is your life. As far as we know, you only live it once. Are you there yet? The journeys begin November 17th, December 8th, and December 15th. Click here for more information.

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