Red Pandas are well known for being adorable and they do not disappoint. Red Pandas have red-orange fur on their torso, tail and face. There are white sections of fur on their faces, particularly above their eyes, on their snout and on their cheeks. Their tails are striped alternating from their normal red-orange to a brighter, more orange shade of red. Because of their coat pattern some people call Red Pandas “Firefoxes” Red Pandas have a head and body length of about 56 to 63 cm (22 to 25 in), and their tails are about 37 to 47 cm (15 to 19 in).
Red Pandas are not actually pandas. Some people may know that Red Pandas were classified into two families Procyonidae (raccoons) and Ursidae (bears). Contrary to popular belief Red Pandas have recently been classified into their own family; Ailuridae. Within the Red Panda species there are two subspecies; Ailurus fulgens fulgens and Ailurus fulgens styani. Ailurus fulgens fulgens resides in part of China, Bhutan, Nepal and northeastern India (West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh). Ailurus fulgens styani is only found in northern Myanmar and China, specifically in the Hengduan Mountains in Sichuan and the East Nujiang River of Yunnan Province. Red Pandas only live in the temperate forests in the foothills of the Himalayas. The temperature is normally cool in these areas.
Firefoxes are nocturnal and they are mostly solitary with a few small exceptions. Red Pandas tend to grow slowly and will maintain a relationship with their mother for about a year before leaving to live out the rest of their lives alone. During the mating seasons Firefoxes will have short lasting relationships with a mate until the seasons are up. Despite living in almost complete solitude, Red Pandas do trade information by used visual cues, scent glands, and variety of calls. Beside these interactions Red Pandas live in complete solitude. Even though one Ailurus’s home range may overlap anothers, they never interact.
Their breeding season takes place during January to April. Similarly to the Giant Pandas, female Red Pandas are only fertile for one or two days a year This ensures that the offspring will be born during the summer when they have their best chance at survival.The Red Panda gestation period lasts about 135 days (a little more than 4.4 months), which is surprisingly long considering that they only weigh eleven pounds at maturity. The females create nests in branch forks, tree holes, tree roots or bamboo thickets and line it with leaves, moss and other soft plant material. A litter usually consists of about two cubs and they are born sometime between May and July. Newborns weigh between 110 to 130 g (3.9 and 4.6 ounces). They are already completely furred to protect them from the cold environment. Red Pandas become adults at twelve months and reach sexual maturity at eighteen months. They can live up to 22 years, though females stop breeding at age twelve. Firefoxes have a slow reproduction rate and suffer great amounts from population declines.
Females’ habitats are usually about one square mile and males’ are about two square miles. Males tend to breed with females that have overlapping living ranges with them. Despite have a mile or two as their home to roam, Red Pandas need to conserve a lot of their energy so they only travel around 650-1,000 feet in their range per day. They only cover about 25% of their living ranges per month. Red Panda’s have a couple ways of marking their territory, including scents from glands on the pads of their feet and urine, similarly to dogs.
Just like Cats, Firefoxes bathe by licking the front of their paws and cleaning the fur all over their body. Red Pandas have strange diet. They eat bamboo year round and eat insects and fruits in warm enough weather. Unlike Giant Pandas, Red Pandas don’t eat every part of the bamboo plant. They will only eat the most soft and tender shoots. Also Giant Pandas don’t chew their food much, while Red Pandas chew their bamboo assiduously. Although bamboo may seem like a very abundant food source, Red Panda’s search for the more tender and soft bamboo shoots reduces their food’s availability. These soft shoots grow in patches. While these patches may be found randomly throughout their habitats, it’s more than likely that two or more Red Pandas will find the same patches of tender bamboo. So a few Firefoxes might have to share some food sources.
Bamboo grows quickly and it’s almost always growing somewhere. Unfortunately it has many indigestible fibers, making it very hard for Red Pandas to survive solely on it because they can’t extract all the nutrients they need from bamboo. In fact bamboo is only accountable for one quarter of Red Panda’s nutrient intake. During the winter when Firefoxes can’t eat their preferred food, (insects and fruit), they lose about 15% body weight. To avoid losing too much weight during the winter Red Pandas have a very low metabolism, nearly as slow as sloths, and they can slow down their metabolism even more. They will also spend up to thirteen hours searching for and eating bamboo. Red Pandas have a thick fur that covers their entire body, including the soles of their paws, this keeps them warm throughout the cold months
Red Pandas have likely existed for millions of years! There were some fossils found in Eastern Europe and North America that looked similar to the Red Pandas of today. These fossils dated back to the Pliocene (5 to 2 million years ago) and Miocene (25 to 5 million years ago) periods! Some scientists believe that Red Pandas and bamboo were historically found in many places around the world. It’s possible that Red Pandas predate Humans.
The exact number of wild Red Pandas in Asia is unknown at the moment but some scientists estimate that there are about 2,500 left. But many zoos have taken up the responsibility of trying to help preserve this species. More than 80 zoos have Red Pandas and most of them participate in a management program to ensure the survival of a viable zoo population. To protect Red Pandas we must protect the ecosystem in which they inhabit. Deforestation has caused a number of problems with the Red Panda habitat. The forests where Red Pandas live rely on slow water runoff from the nearby mountains. Recently deforestation has caused soil to run down the mountains instead. Many people rely on Red Pandas and their habitat.
Sources:
"About the Red Panda." Red Panda Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2017.
"Red Panda." San Diego Zoo Global Animals and Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2017.
"Red Panda." Smithsonian's National Zoo. N.p., 31 May 2017. Web. 07 July 2017.
"Red Panda." WWF. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 07 July 2017.
Red Pandas are not actually pandas. Some people may know that Red Pandas were classified into two families Procyonidae (raccoons) and Ursidae (bears). Contrary to popular belief Red Pandas have recently been classified into their own family; Ailuridae. Within the Red Panda species there are two subspecies; Ailurus fulgens fulgens and Ailurus fulgens styani. Ailurus fulgens fulgens resides in part of China, Bhutan, Nepal and northeastern India (West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh). Ailurus fulgens styani is only found in northern Myanmar and China, specifically in the Hengduan Mountains in Sichuan and the East Nujiang River of Yunnan Province. Red Pandas only live in the temperate forests in the foothills of the Himalayas. The temperature is normally cool in these areas.
Firefoxes are nocturnal and they are mostly solitary with a few small exceptions. Red Pandas tend to grow slowly and will maintain a relationship with their mother for about a year before leaving to live out the rest of their lives alone. During the mating seasons Firefoxes will have short lasting relationships with a mate until the seasons are up. Despite living in almost complete solitude, Red Pandas do trade information by used visual cues, scent glands, and variety of calls. Beside these interactions Red Pandas live in complete solitude. Even though one Ailurus’s home range may overlap anothers, they never interact.
Their breeding season takes place during January to April. Similarly to the Giant Pandas, female Red Pandas are only fertile for one or two days a year This ensures that the offspring will be born during the summer when they have their best chance at survival.The Red Panda gestation period lasts about 135 days (a little more than 4.4 months), which is surprisingly long considering that they only weigh eleven pounds at maturity. The females create nests in branch forks, tree holes, tree roots or bamboo thickets and line it with leaves, moss and other soft plant material. A litter usually consists of about two cubs and they are born sometime between May and July. Newborns weigh between 110 to 130 g (3.9 and 4.6 ounces). They are already completely furred to protect them from the cold environment. Red Pandas become adults at twelve months and reach sexual maturity at eighteen months. They can live up to 22 years, though females stop breeding at age twelve. Firefoxes have a slow reproduction rate and suffer great amounts from population declines.
Females’ habitats are usually about one square mile and males’ are about two square miles. Males tend to breed with females that have overlapping living ranges with them. Despite have a mile or two as their home to roam, Red Pandas need to conserve a lot of their energy so they only travel around 650-1,000 feet in their range per day. They only cover about 25% of their living ranges per month. Red Panda’s have a couple ways of marking their territory, including scents from glands on the pads of their feet and urine, similarly to dogs.
Just like Cats, Firefoxes bathe by licking the front of their paws and cleaning the fur all over their body. Red Pandas have strange diet. They eat bamboo year round and eat insects and fruits in warm enough weather. Unlike Giant Pandas, Red Pandas don’t eat every part of the bamboo plant. They will only eat the most soft and tender shoots. Also Giant Pandas don’t chew their food much, while Red Pandas chew their bamboo assiduously. Although bamboo may seem like a very abundant food source, Red Panda’s search for the more tender and soft bamboo shoots reduces their food’s availability. These soft shoots grow in patches. While these patches may be found randomly throughout their habitats, it’s more than likely that two or more Red Pandas will find the same patches of tender bamboo. So a few Firefoxes might have to share some food sources.
Bamboo grows quickly and it’s almost always growing somewhere. Unfortunately it has many indigestible fibers, making it very hard for Red Pandas to survive solely on it because they can’t extract all the nutrients they need from bamboo. In fact bamboo is only accountable for one quarter of Red Panda’s nutrient intake. During the winter when Firefoxes can’t eat their preferred food, (insects and fruit), they lose about 15% body weight. To avoid losing too much weight during the winter Red Pandas have a very low metabolism, nearly as slow as sloths, and they can slow down their metabolism even more. They will also spend up to thirteen hours searching for and eating bamboo. Red Pandas have a thick fur that covers their entire body, including the soles of their paws, this keeps them warm throughout the cold months
Red Pandas have likely existed for millions of years! There were some fossils found in Eastern Europe and North America that looked similar to the Red Pandas of today. These fossils dated back to the Pliocene (5 to 2 million years ago) and Miocene (25 to 5 million years ago) periods! Some scientists believe that Red Pandas and bamboo were historically found in many places around the world. It’s possible that Red Pandas predate Humans.
The exact number of wild Red Pandas in Asia is unknown at the moment but some scientists estimate that there are about 2,500 left. But many zoos have taken up the responsibility of trying to help preserve this species. More than 80 zoos have Red Pandas and most of them participate in a management program to ensure the survival of a viable zoo population. To protect Red Pandas we must protect the ecosystem in which they inhabit. Deforestation has caused a number of problems with the Red Panda habitat. The forests where Red Pandas live rely on slow water runoff from the nearby mountains. Recently deforestation has caused soil to run down the mountains instead. Many people rely on Red Pandas and their habitat.
Sources:
"About the Red Panda." Red Panda Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2017.
"Red Panda." San Diego Zoo Global Animals and Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2017.
"Red Panda." Smithsonian's National Zoo. N.p., 31 May 2017. Web. 07 July 2017.
"Red Panda." WWF. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 07 July 2017.