Red Panda
The Red Panda, with as little as 2,500 of them left on Earth, is going extinct. Before the important things are said about them, it is best that the small facts are mentioned. To start off, it has several different names, including Red Panda, Lesser Panda, Bear-Cat, Bright Panda, and Fire Fox. Though it has probably already been guessed, the Red Panda is a relative of the Giant Panda, as one may notice by looking at their fur patterns and similar diet. Although, the Red Panda has reddish brown fur as well as a fluffy tail and facial structure similar to it’s other relative, the raccoon. It has an average lifespan of about 8-15 years, as long as they have plenty of food and few predators in its area. Now that more is known about the Red Panda, their habitat can be explained more.
©Red Panda Network To start off, the habitat of the Red Pandas are in the forest canopy areas of the Himalayan Mountains. There are many trees, in which they use their strong tails to climb and keep away from predators. The trees of the Himalayas are located at different altitudes, as well as have different temperatures. The Red Panda prefers to stay in altitudes 1,500-4,000 meters, and live with 18 C winters and 30 C summers. The Red Panda lives in low altitudes, so they do not have to live in terribly cold weather, as high altitude animals do. Secondly, the threats of the Red Panda are also many. The top two predators are snow leopards and martens (Red Panda Facts). The predators take many of their lives each year. Another threat to this species is due to loss of food sources. Red Pandas like to eat bamboo until they are old enough to handle other foods (fruits, nuts, etc.) The loss of bamboo means the loss of food for Red Panda cubs. Also, people are attempting—and succeeding—to hunt for their fur to make clothing. With an estimation of only 2,500 of these pandas left on Earth, it isn’t difficult to say they’re endangered. But why is that? Due to deforestation, logging, agricultural
©Red Panda Network To start off, the habitat of the Red Pandas are in the forest canopy areas of the Himalayan Mountains. There are many trees, in which they use their strong tails to climb and keep away from predators. The trees of the Himalayas are located at different altitudes, as well as have different temperatures. The Red Panda prefers to stay in altitudes 1,500-4,000 meters, and live with 18 C winters and 30 C summers. The Red Panda lives in low altitudes, so they do not have to live in terribly cold weather, as high altitude animals do. Secondly, the threats of the Red Panda are also many. The top two predators are snow leopards and martens (Red Panda Facts). The predators take many of their lives each year. Another threat to this species is due to loss of food sources. Red Pandas like to eat bamboo until they are old enough to handle other foods (fruits, nuts, etc.) The loss of bamboo means the loss of food for Red Panda cubs. Also, people are attempting—and succeeding—to hunt for their fur to make clothing. With an estimation of only 2,500 of these pandas left on Earth, it isn’t difficult to say they’re endangered. But why is that? Due to deforestation, logging, agricultural
Cited: Web. 05 Mar. 2012. . Cox, Daniel J. Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia). Photograph. ARKive. Web. 05 Mar. 2012 Kuczmarski, Kayla Kuczmarski. "Adaptations." BioWeb Home. 27 Apr. 2007. Web. 25 Jan Our Progress. Photograph. Conservation in Action. Red Panda Network. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. Jan. 2012. . Red Panda (Ailurus Fulgens). Photograph. ARKive. ARKive. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. "Ways You Can Help." Conservation in Action. Red Panda Network, 25 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.