Scientific Name:
Distribution
Nepal, China, Myanmar, India, Bhutan
Diet:
Largely herbivore. Young leaves and shoots of bamboo. It also takes fruit, roots, succulent grasses, acorns, lichens, birds' eggs, insects and small animals.
Facts
Habitat: High-altitude temperate forests with bamboo undergrowth
Diet: Largely herbivore. Young leaves and shoots of bamboo. It also takes fruit, roots, succulent grasses, acorns, lichens, birds' eggs, insects and small animals.
Dimensions: 51-73cm, tail 28-49cm
Weight: 3-6kg
Gestation: 114-145 days, 1-4 young, gestational delay
Lifespan: 8-10 years, max 14 (max 21 years in a zoo)
Social structure: Mainly solitary, in small groups during the mating period
Estimated population: <10,000 adults
Status: Endangered
Threats: Habitat loss and fragmentation, habitat destruction and natural disasters, trade for their skin and other body parts, poaching.
Did you know that:
- Red pandas, like giant pandas, have a pseudo-thumb, a modified wrist bone used to grasp bamboo when feeding. Despite these similarities, the two species are not closely related. The red panda is closest in relation to weasels and skunks.
- In very cold temperatures, red pandas can become dormant, lowering their metabolic rate and raising it every few hours as they wake up to look for food.
- They spend most of their time in trees and sleep over 12 hours per day.