Red Panda

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Ailurus fulgens;

also called the Firefox or Lesser Panda • a small arboreal mammal • Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, • closest relatives are skunks, raccoons, and otters, weasels and badgers

Distribution

• Found in Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India Laos, Burma, and China the Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.

• Eats bamboo and eggs, birds, insects, and small mammals • Uses strong, curved and sharp semi retractile claws • Like the Giant Panda, it has a “false thumb” that is an extension of the wrist bone.

• They are most active at night and the hours of dusk and dawn. • Adults are solitary except during mating season are are territorial • If a Red Panda feels threatened it will try to run first but if it can no longer flee, it stands on its hind legs to make itself appear larger and uses the sharp claws on its front paws to defend itself.

Reproduction

• The Red Panda is able to reproduce from around 18 months • After mating season (mid-January to early March),females make nests in hollow trees or a rock crevices • After gestation (112 to 158 days) the female gives birth to between one and four blind cubs weighing about 4 oz.

• The cubs open their eyes when they are about 18 days old, by about 90 days they have achieved full adult fur and coloring, and begin to venture out of the nest.

Conservation • Classified as vulnerable • Primary threat is loss of habitat

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2 TrqWdic1Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScD4K2Oh_9k