The Red Panda
By Meher Singh
By Meher Singh
The red panda (scientific name ailurus fulgens) is an animal that resides in places like the mountains in Nepal and central China. It is a mammal with a lifespan of up to 8 years. It weighs about 12 to 20 pounds and its size ranges from 32 to 46 inches, including its very long tail.
The red panda prefers habitats in rainy, high altitude forests, and spend most of their lives in trees. Their diet consists mostly of bamboo, but unlike giant pandas, they can also eat acorns, fruit, eggs, and roots. They stick to foraging for these foods mostly at night, but it can usually also extend to the early evening and the early morning.
A red panda is typically very solitary, but the exception to this is when they are mating. The females give birth to around one to four red pandas at a time. They give birth in the spring and the summer, and the offspring remain with their mothers for about 90 days, while the males have little interest in their offspring.
Even though it is such an interesting and amazing animal, it is quickly going extinct. Currently, it is classified as endangered and the population consists of less than 10,000 red pandas. This is not because of lack of food or natural resources, but because of humans themselves. Their natural habitats have been victim to the process of deforestation due to logging or agriculture, which is leaving many without immediate shelter. Another reason that they are dying off is due to poaching. Red pandas have a very thick layer of fur to help them keep warm when their habitats are cold, and they are being killed by hunters so that their fur can be sold and made into clothing items.
However, there are many people and organizations out there who are working hard to stop the continuous losses in the red panda’s population. One way many organizations allow you to help is by “adopting a red panda”, which involves buying a red panda plushie from these organizations, and the money is used to help stop the poaching of these animals.
Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/r/red-panda/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/red-panda (image taken from this source)
The red panda prefers habitats in rainy, high altitude forests, and spend most of their lives in trees. Their diet consists mostly of bamboo, but unlike giant pandas, they can also eat acorns, fruit, eggs, and roots. They stick to foraging for these foods mostly at night, but it can usually also extend to the early evening and the early morning.
A red panda is typically very solitary, but the exception to this is when they are mating. The females give birth to around one to four red pandas at a time. They give birth in the spring and the summer, and the offspring remain with their mothers for about 90 days, while the males have little interest in their offspring.
Even though it is such an interesting and amazing animal, it is quickly going extinct. Currently, it is classified as endangered and the population consists of less than 10,000 red pandas. This is not because of lack of food or natural resources, but because of humans themselves. Their natural habitats have been victim to the process of deforestation due to logging or agriculture, which is leaving many without immediate shelter. Another reason that they are dying off is due to poaching. Red pandas have a very thick layer of fur to help them keep warm when their habitats are cold, and they are being killed by hunters so that their fur can be sold and made into clothing items.
However, there are many people and organizations out there who are working hard to stop the continuous losses in the red panda’s population. One way many organizations allow you to help is by “adopting a red panda”, which involves buying a red panda plushie from these organizations, and the money is used to help stop the poaching of these animals.
Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/r/red-panda/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/red-panda (image taken from this source)