The Red Pandas
The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body and thick russet fur. The belly and limbs are black, and there are white markings on the side of the head and above its small eyes. Red pandas are very skillful and acrobatic animals that stay in trees. Almost 50 percent of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas. They use their long, bushy tails for balance and to cover themselves in winter for warmth. Red pandas are herbivore, the name panda is said to come from the Nepali word ‘ponya,’ which means bamboo or plant eating animal. They live in the temperate forest, and can grow up to two feet.
Endangered
The loss of nesting trees and bamboo is causing a decline in red panda populations, their forest home is being cleared. With no where to go they can not survive. Sometimes there are monsoons that destroy tress, which is another cause of how the have become endangered. |
how THEY die
Red pandas are often killed when they get caught in traps meant for other animals such as wild pigs and deer. They are also poached for their pelts in China and Myanmar. Red panda fur caps or hats have been found for sale in Bhutan. Because of deforestation they lose their homes |
what IS BEING doneThe red panda network protects wild red pandas and their habitats. In order to save the red pandas we must stop destroying there homes and, leaving trap in their habitats. There are more than 80 zoo's in America that protect and care for the red pandas. |
There are only estimated to be about 2,500 adult Red Pandas left. Here is a bar graph estimating the Red Panda population decrease, with a decline of 10% every 30 years, over the next 180 years.
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Fun Facts
In very cold temperatures, red pandas can become dormant, lowering their metabolic rate and raising it every few hours as they wake up to look for food.
Red pandas are the only living member of the family Ailuridae (Ailuridae is a family in the mammal order Carnivora). |
Habitat
The red panda lives, eats, and raises its babies in forest mountain terrains. Its habitat range includes central China, Nepal, Myanmar, and Bhutan. Precise information on their habitat distribution is not known since wild population facts are difficult to gather.
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How many are left?
Poaching and habitat loss have left only 10,000(as of Jun 26, 2014) total wild red pandas remaining in the world. Red panda populations are on the decline in the wild.
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