- Common name: Red Panda
- Scientific name: Ailurus fulgens
- Sub-species: A. f. fulgens and A. f. styani
- Conservation status: Endangered
- Habitat: Temperate climate zone of the Himalayas
- Diet: Technically carnivorous, but mostly eats bamboo
Red pandas are the only members of their family (Ailuridae), as all other members of the family have since gone extinct. They are most closely related to members of the family Mephitidae, which includes animals like skunks and stink badgers, best known for their scent glands.
Red pandas are also the first pandas, not giant pandas! Giant pandas were named after red pandas, as their coloring looks somewhat similar, and then the popularity of the giant panda led many to believe it was the first. Red pandas were discovered nearly 50 years earlier than giant pandas.
When threatened, red pandas stand on their hind legs and raise their forelegs in order to seem bigger.
Red pandas migrate vertically! Instead of moving large geographical distances, they move from areas of high elevation to low elevation in the winter months.
For the most part, red pandas are solitary animals, and will mark their territory. Males typically mark their territory more often and for longer than females.
The gestation period for red pandas lasts about 131 days. Pregnant females will build nests for their litters, typically between one and four cubs. The cubs will be fully dependent on their mother for 3-4 months, until they are able to leave the nest on their own. Mothers will care for their offspring for about a year, or until the next mating season.