Around 150 people of Ruby Valley in northern Dhading were trained recently to conserve wildlife in the region.

Ruby Valley is one of the few places in the country where the endangered red pandas are found. Linjo, Labdung and Thulogaun areas are some of the red panda habitats in the valley. The region also boasts many other wildlife species, including musk deer and Himalayan tahrs.

Hunting animals for their meat and skin was a common practice among the Ruby Valley locals until recently. The conservation training is expected to change the locals’ attitude on wildlife.

The training was organised by the Nature Conservation Initiative Nepal, and Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation Nepal in Linjo, Labdung, Somdang and Thulogaun villages.

The District Forest Office had offered technical assistance while the District Coordination Committee and the Constituency Development Programme had provided Rs 250,000 and Rs 200,000 respectively to the training.

Jomsai Ghale, a training participant from Tipling, said no one had taught them about the importance of wildlife, particularly about red pandas and their precarious state in the animal kingdom, before the training.

The people’s way of looking at red pandas have changed after the training, he added.