Red Panda

The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a relative the size of a cat, raccoon and ferret. Although it was thought to be a relative of the panda bear, molecular analysis found it was not part of the bear family.
It is also known as the cat bear, fox cat, fire fox or Himalayan raccoon. Red pandas live in high-altitude mountain forests in Nepal, the indian state of Sikkim, the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan and Myanmar.
They spend most of their time in trees, where they show great agility. On the ground it moves slowly.

Red Panda Food

Red pandas consume mostly bamboo. Like the panda, it cannot digest cellulose, so it must consume a large volume of bamboo to survive.
Its diet consists of about two-thirds bamboo, but also includes fruits, mushrooms, roots, Acorns, lichens, herbs, and is known to supplement its diet with young birds, fish, eggs, small rodents, and occasionally insects.
In captivity, they also easily consume meat. The red Panda is an excellent climber looking for food especially in trees. The Red Panda doesn't do much besides feeding and sleeping because of its low caloric content.
Bamboo buds are much more easily digestible than leaves and show the highest degree of digestibility in summer and autumn, lowest in spring, and lowest in winter. These variations correlate with the nutrient content of bamboo.
Red Panda does not fully digest bamboo, cellulose and cell wall components remain undigested. This implies that microbial digestion plays only a minor role in digestive function. The transit of bamboo through the intestine is very fast (about 2-4 hours).
To survive on this poor-quality diet, the Red panda selects parts of the bamboo plant that contain high-quality nutrients, such as tender leaves and buds in large quantities (over 1.5 kg of fresh leaves and 4 kg of fresh buds per day), which pass through the digestive tract fairly quickly, to maximize nutrient intake.

Red Panda Appearance

The head is red, as is the body which is 56-63cm long and the tail 37-47cm. Males weigh 3.7-6.2 kg and females 4.2-6 kg. The coat is soft and long, dark in color on the lower and upper limbs.
The face is similar to that of a raccoon, the head is sturdy and the ears are medium-sized.
The tail is long and bushy with six rings of reddish-yellow color, it gives it balance and a camouflage against predators. It also serves as thermal insulation, snow cover, etc.
The Red Panda has specialized in feeding on bamboo. Claws are curved, sharp and semiretractile.
Because they are strong they easily climb trees. The red Panda is one of the few species that can descend upside down, one of the advantages is the way it clings to the tree with its hind legs.

Red Panda Behavior

Red pandas are solitary animals except during mating season. They are generally quiet animals that are not noticed.
They are nocturnal animals that emerge at the beginning of insertion.
During the day they prefer to sleep on tree branches with their legs stretched out if it is hot, or squat in a hollow if it is cold.
It is Important to know that they are territorial animals. He marks his territory with urine and pretends not to be disturbed.

Red Panda Breeding

Red pandas are able to reproduce after 18 months and become fully mature at the age of 2-3 years. Adults rarely interact in the wild except during mating.
Both partners may mate with more than one partner during the mating season that begins mid-January to mid-March.
A few days before giving birth, the females gather twigs, grass, leaves and build a safe nest in the forest.
After a gestation period of 112-158 days the female gives birth in June-July 1 to 4 blind and deaf Cubs weighing 110-130 grams each.
After birth, the mother cleans the puppies and recognizes each one by its smell. At first he spends 60% to 90% of his time with the Cubs. After the first week it begins to come out more and more of the vision returning at most a few hours.
Puppies begin to open their eyes about 18 days after birth. After about 90 days they have fur like an adult and begin to venture into the vicinity of the burrow. They begin to eat solid food and are weaned at the age of 6-8 months.
They stay with their mother for about a year until the next summer other cubs are born. Males rarely help chicks if they live in small groups or there is any danger.
The average lifespan is 8-12 years, and in captivity they can reach 15 years.