Red Pandas Fantastic Facts with Fabulous Photos

May 15, 2024

The red panda is known by multiple nicknames, notably “firefox,” “lesser panda,” and “red-cat-bear.” It is known as Habre in Nepali. It is known as Hop Rakpa in the Hyolmo language in the Langtang region.
Red pandas are the first panda and they are not related to giant pandas.
Except for having thick brown hair and a long, bushy tail, red pandas behave similarly to house cats and bears.
Red pandas are carnivores but bamboo is their main diet. Bamboo makes up about 98% diet of the red panda but it also consumes small mammals, birds, insects, flowers, and eggs occasionally when they are available.
They sleep two-thirds of the day sleeping in their tail on the branches of trees.
They quack like ducks and glow in the dark.
Their red fur helps them to camouflage.
Red pandas hibernate.
They can migrate vertically from the trees keeping its head first.
The IUCN Red List states that there are approximately 10,000 red pandas left in the world.
A red panda has thick brown hair and a long, bushy tail, but otherwise behaves like a house cat.
Red pandas reside at elevations above 2,200 m in the highlands.
A fully grown one measures around 50 cm in height and weighs about 6.2 kg.
The average lifespan of a red panda is 8 to 10 years, while some can live up to 15 years.
Nepal has recorded between 237 and 1,061 red pandas in its many national parks. Among them, Langtang National Park is the nearest spot from Kathmandu to witness the red panda.
There are currently more than 15 red pandas in the Ilam district of eastern Nepal
Red pandas are gradually becoming endangered due to their habitat destruction by deforestation and uncontrolled cattle grazing, hunting poaching, and ineffective handling of both inbound and outgoing tourist traffic.

red panda in nepal

Classification:

The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) is the only living representative of the Ailuridae family, mammals that belong to order Carnivore.

Two species

Within the genus Ailurus, there is only one known species—the red panda of today. According to recent genetic research, there are two different species of red pandas. They are the Himalayan red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) and the Chinese red panda (Ailurus fulgens styani, also called Ailurus fulgens refulgens). Compared to the former, the latter is typically bigger and more reddish.

Physical Characters:

Red pandas are slightly larger than house cats when they are adults. Red pandas typically have a head and body length of 56 to 63 cm (22 to 25 in), and a tail length of roughly 37 to 47 cm (15 to 19 in). Male Ailurus fulgens often weigh between 4.5 and 6.2 kg (10-14 lbs), while females typically weigh between 3-4.5 kg (6-10 lbs). Styani males weigh 7.7 kg, while females are roughly 7.3 kg. Styani females are heavier.

Lifespan:

The lifespan of a red panda is approximately 23 years. They exhibit signs of aging between the ages of 12 and 14. Males are still capable of reproducing at the age of 12, while females stop breeding at that point.

red panda interesting facts

Habitation and distribution:

Red pandas inhabit temperate forests at high altitudes with bamboo understoreys in the Himalayas and other high mountains. The red panda usually stays at an elevation between 2,500 and 4,000 meters, however, it has been reported to go as low as 1,500 m. According to zoologists, it stays away from areas with hills that face south and prefers colder climates. The habitat range of red pandas in the wild is 1 square mile.

The red panda is a rare animal species native to the eastern Himalayas, Central Langtang region of Nepal, and southwestern China. The rainy mountain forests of central China, northern Myanmar (Burma), India, Nepal, and Bhutan are home to red pandas.

Ailurus fulgens fulgens is primarily found in Nepal, although it is also present in Bhutan and India. China and Myanmar are the main locations of Ailurus fulgens refulgens, also known as Ailurus fulgens styani.

Population

According to studies, there are only about 1,000 red pandas in Nepal and less than 10,000 red pandas worldwide. A 2015 estimate placed the population at 10,000, while the actual amount of creatures in the wild is unknown. There are an estimated 1,000 red pandas in Nepal’s 24 districts, and the majority of their habitat lies outside of the nation’s protected regions in the community forests.

Behavior

Red pandas are solitary, tree-dwelling, and sleeping animals. They spend the majority of the day sleeping and resting in trees (arboreal), storing energy, and are most active in the twilight hours of early morning and evening (crepuscular). Normally solitary animals, red pandas unite in pairs during the breeding season.

red panda pangbu danda

Communication:

They use their tails to arch, their heads to bobble, their squeals, or a sound that sounds like a cross between a pig snort and a duck quack to communicate.

Diet and Habits

Red pandas spend a large portion of the year eating bamboo as a main diet. They can also feed on fruits, vegetables, insects, grubs, nutritious grasses, and roots. Occasionally, they kill and consume small mammals and birds. The solitary mammals feed during the night and in the early night and early morning hours. They sleep the whole day on the branches of trees basking in the sun.

Safety and protection:

In order to protect themselves from the cold mountain air, red pandas even have two layers of fur: a soft undercoat covered in coarse hairs, which they utilize as a blanket. Their long fluffy tail also serves this purpose and maintain balance.

Being expert climbers, red pandas use trees as a form of protection from predators and as a place to sunbathe throughout the winter. They can grasp slick branches with their sharp claws, and their flexible ankles allow them to descend headfirst down the tree trunks skillfully. This facilitates their swift escape from jackals and snow leopards, among other predators who might find it challenging to see the animals in the first location: Their black bellies make them difficult for predators to see from the ground, and their coats blend well with the mosses clusters that develop on their tree residences.

red panda of nepal