The Red Panda
Tamara Rudić
Purple 2
April 25, 2013
The Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens (lat.)
Its latin name roughly says „The shining cat“, but people often get it mistaken for a fox, and some don’t even understand why is it called a panda at all when it’s nothing like the Giant panda we’re all used to.
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia Family: Ailuridae
Phylum: Chordata Genus: Ailurus
Class: Mamalia Species: Fulgens
Order: Carnivora
What is it?
Believe it or not, its relatives are raccoons, skunks, and weasels. The red panda was previously classified in the families of Procyonidae (raccoons) and Ursidae (bears) before getting its own family.
It has two subspecies: Western red panda and Styan’s red panda. The differences are mainly colors of the fur, shape of the skull, and the area of habitation.
Natural Habitat:
The red panda is usually found in the area of the eastern Himalayas and Southwestern China, on the altitude between 2.200 – 4.800m, and it prefers places with the temperature of 10˚ - 25˚ C (It can’t stand higher temperatures). Usually, they live 8 – 10 years.
Physical characteristics:
Length of the body can be as long as 64cm, and the tail up to 60cm. It’s slightly larger than a domestic cat (They lick their fur, too). The red panda weighs around 6kg. The fur is reddish brown, and black on the lower parts of the body. The face has similar badges like a raccoon, and the legs are short and black. It also had a fake thumb, like the giant panda.
Nutrition:
Its main food source is bamboo, because it cannot digest celulose. Usually, they eat 5kg of bamboo leaves and 4kg of bamboo shoots per day. If bamboo is not available, they can survive on birds, small mamalls, fruits and berries.
Conservation status:
It is marked vulnerable. Currently, there are around 10.000 individuals in the wild. There are a couple of reasons they are marked vulnerable: harvest from the wild, competition with the domestic livestock, and mostly,
Purple 2
April 25, 2013
The Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens (lat.)
Its latin name roughly says „The shining cat“, but people often get it mistaken for a fox, and some don’t even understand why is it called a panda at all when it’s nothing like the Giant panda we’re all used to.
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia Family: Ailuridae
Phylum: Chordata Genus: Ailurus
Class: Mamalia Species: Fulgens
Order: Carnivora
What is it?
Believe it or not, its relatives are raccoons, skunks, and weasels. The red panda was previously classified in the families of Procyonidae (raccoons) and Ursidae (bears) before getting its own family.
It has two subspecies: Western red panda and Styan’s red panda. The differences are mainly colors of the fur, shape of the skull, and the area of habitation.
Natural Habitat:
The red panda is usually found in the area of the eastern Himalayas and Southwestern China, on the altitude between 2.200 – 4.800m, and it prefers places with the temperature of 10˚ - 25˚ C (It can’t stand higher temperatures). Usually, they live 8 – 10 years.
Physical characteristics:
Length of the body can be as long as 64cm, and the tail up to 60cm. It’s slightly larger than a domestic cat (They lick their fur, too). The red panda weighs around 6kg. The fur is reddish brown, and black on the lower parts of the body. The face has similar badges like a raccoon, and the legs are short and black. It also had a fake thumb, like the giant panda.
Nutrition:
Its main food source is bamboo, because it cannot digest celulose. Usually, they eat 5kg of bamboo leaves and 4kg of bamboo shoots per day. If bamboo is not available, they can survive on birds, small mamalls, fruits and berries.
Conservation status:
It is marked vulnerable. Currently, there are around 10.000 individuals in the wild. There are a couple of reasons they are marked vulnerable: harvest from the wild, competition with the domestic livestock, and mostly,