With its brilliant cinnamon-red coat, jet black legs, a fuzzy ringed tail, and round, kitten-like face, the red panda is easily one of cutest animals in the wild. Also called red cat bear, lesser panda, and firefox, its scientific name Ailurus fulgens translates to fire-coloured cat, or just fire cat.
Though red panda fossils dating as far back as five million years ago have been discovered in North America, today the animal is found only in isolated mountain regions in China, Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Myanmar. They are essentially solitary creatures that live where bamboo is plentiful.
Is this enchanting cat-like critter actually a relative of the famous roly-poly black-and-white giant panda of China, which shares its name? Scientifically, the red panda has no living close relatives; its closest cousins died out some 3-4 million years ago. The red panda was given its name in the early 19th century, a good 50 years before the giant panda was given its moniker. The name derives from the Nepali word “poonya” or wrist bone, a reference to the extra digit on its paws.
For years scientists debated where to place the red panda in the taxonomy of animals. They were first thought to be members of the raccoon family, owing to the shape of their heads and the ringed tail. Later, they were assumed to be part of the bear family, but that isn’t correct either. Most recently, genetic research has placed red pandas into their own independent family: Ailuridae, a rare, now extinct branch of mammal carnivores, with a very distant connection to weasels, raccoons, and skunks. Two subspecies of red panda exist. Ailurus fulgens fulgensis the one found in northeast India (and Nepal) and is the smaller and lighter coloured of the two.
Though they belong to different families, the red panda’s habitat and diet is similar to China’s furry goodwill ambassador the giant panda. Red pandas selectively feed on the most nutritious leaf tips and tender shoots of bamboo, unlike the giant panda which consumes virtually every above-ground part including the woody stem. Most of their waking hours are spent acquiring the calories they need. They are arboreal and build their nests in trees. They have developed exceptional climbing skills, even the acrobatic feat of climbing down a tree head first.
Poached for their fur and facing habitat loss as a result of human incursion, these adorable creatures are now under threat. Even though they live in isolated high-altitude areas, and are rather shy and elusive, researchers believe that the total population of red pandas has declined by 50 percent over the past two decades. The worldwide population now sits at fewer than 10,000. The red panda has been listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List; the world’s main authority on the conservation status of species. Quite adaptable to living in captivity, red pandas are a common sight in zoos worldwide. Many zoos offer programs to “adopt a red panda”, which is a wonderful way to fund conservation efforts and protect this precious species.
For a fascinating look at the life of a red panda watch the documentary Cherub of the Mist made by the Bedi family, who painstakingly tracked this wonderful creature in the forests of Singalila for almost two years (available on YouTube).
SPOT THEM:
In India, red pandas can be spotted in the wild in the temperate forests of the northeast Himalayas at altitudes from 1,500 to 4,000 m. Track them in Khangchendzonga (Kanchenjunga) National Park, Sikkim; Namdhapa National Park, Arunachal Pradesh; or Singalila National Park, West Bengal. Elsewhere in Asia, red pandas can be found in northern Myanmar and in China’s western Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.