The Events

The Animal Series

Red Panda

Introduction

People may say that red pandas are related to giant pandas, but they are not. They are also not related to raccoons. The herbivorous mammals belong to their own family, Ailuridae. The endangered mammals live in the mountainous forests of Nepal, Burma, and central China. They are mostly arboreal and solitary.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ailuridae
Genus: Ailurus
Species: fulgens

Because red pandas are classified as relatives to the giant panda and raccoon, they are considered members of their own family, Aliuridae.

Physical Characteristics
Full-grown red pandas are about 43 cm long and weight from 12-20 lbs. They are covered in red fur with white markings around the face and have a black belly. They also have white/brown rings on their bushy tail. Their markings help them blend in to their habitat. They are covered in soft, dense fur from their head to their feet. They use their tails to balance in the trees and to cover themselves in the winter.

Habitat

Red pandas live in the high-altitude, temperate climates in deciduous and coniferous forests. They live in Myanmar (Burma) and Sichuan and Yunnan providences in China. Red pandas are found in between 2,200 and 4,800 meters elevation in the Himalayan mountains. To blend in with the red mosses and white lichens that grow where they live, they cover themselves with their red and white tails. They spend most of their days in the trees and only go to the ground to forage during dusk or dawn.

Food Source/Food Chain

Red pandas are herbivores. They eat bamboo leaves, berries, blossoms, bird eggs, and other plants’ leaves. Because they have broad teeth and strong jaws, red pandas are able to chew the bamboo’s though leaves and stalks. Having a small, bony projection (like a thumb) on their wrists helps them obtain bamboo by allowing them to grip onto the bamboo stalks. They insert food into the side of their mouth, break it, chew it, and the swallow it.

They are in the middle of the food chain. Red pandas eat small animals, insects, and plants, while they are prey to raptors and large carnivores. Snow leopards are adults main predators and the young are often taken from their nest by yellow-necked martens.

Social Behavior

Red pandas are shy and solitary. The only time when they are not solitary is during mating season and when the young is with their mother. They are also crepuscular (active around dawn and dusk) and nocturnal. Red pandas are gentle and curious, but when they are frightened, they stand on their back legs, hiss, climb up a tree or strike with their semi-retractable claws. They mark their territory with scents from their anal gland, urine, or feces. Their trails are also marked with scents from the glands on the soles of their feet. Red pandas communicate with each other in a series of whistles and squeaks.

Red pandas produce sexually. They give birth around spring and summer time after their gestation of 134 days. Red pandas usually have one to four offspring. The young then stay in their nest for ninety days while the mother takes care of them. Young red pandas reach adult size at twelve months, or one year.

Interesting Characteristics

The Red Panda’s name comes from the Nepalese Word “eater of bamboo” and the fact that they are a bright red color. The males sometimes are called a boar or a he-bear, and the female is called the sow or she-bear. A group of panda’s is called a sleuth or sloth.The red panda was introduced to Europe in 1821 and then added to western science list in 1825. This is remarkable because it was introduced 40 years before the giant panda was scientifically written down.
The red panda has a life span of about 13 years.
The red panda's have some very interesting defense mechanisms. The most interesting of their characteristics is when they are disturbed they exhale, and then the panda arches their bodies to frighten off intruders. The Female panda can eat up to 200,000 bamboo leaves a day.
The red panda is currently endangered due to habitat loss. In 1998, 2,500 adult red in the wild and the number has been growing by the year.
Other names for the red panda: bear-cat, bright panda, cat-bear, fire fox, lesser panda, petite panda, or poonya.
Red Panda's connection with other carnivorous animals is uncertain.
Red Pandas have partially retractable claws.
They have a thumb like attachment that helps them obtain food.

Source: National Geography