Red Pandas are an endangered species that we do not know as much about
compared to other species, like the giant panda. They are very secretive
in the wild, which makes them difficult to study. There are
less than 10,000 left in the wild today.
The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body
and thick russet fur. The belly and limbs are black, and there are white
markings on the side of the head and above its small eyes. Red pandas are
very skillful and acrobatic animals that predominantly stay in trees. They
use their long, bushy tails for balance and to cover themselves in winter,
presumably for warmth. Primarily an herbivore, the name panda is said to
come from the Nepali word ‘ponya,’ which means bamboo or plant eating
animal.
Almost 50% of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern
Himalayas. The loss of nesting trees and bamboo is causing a decline in
red panda populations across much of their range because their forest home
is being cleared.
