Red panda

Red Panda
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Caniformia
Superfamily:	Musteloidea
Family:	Ailuridae
Genus:	Ailurus F. Cuvier, 1825
Species:	A. fulgens
Binomial name
Ailurus fulgens F. Cuvier, 1825
subspecies
A. fulgens fulgens A. fulgens refulgens A. fulgens styani
Red Panda range

the most rear of all the sexual harrasment panda is known for dancing and eating rainbow The Red Panda, also called the Firefox or Lesser Panda (Latin name: Ailurus fulgens, "shining cat"), is a mostly herbivorous mammal, specialized as a bamboo feeder. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat.

The Red Panda is endemic to the Himalayas, ranging from Nepal in the west to China in the east. It is also found in northern India, Bhutan and northern Myanmar. There is an estimated population of fewer than 2,500 mature individuals. Their population continues to decline due to habitat fragmentation.

Common names

The Western name "Red Panda" has no conclusive source. The most likely origin is from the Nepali word ponya. The Red Panda is also known as the Wah because of its distinctive cry. This name was given to it by Thomas Hardwicke, when he introduced it to Europeans in 1821. It is called a Cat Bear because it was thought to be related to a small bear and washes itself like a cat by licking its entire body. Other names include Bear Cat, Bright Panda, Common Panda, Fire Fox, Red Fox, Fox Bear, Himalayan Raccoon, Lesser Panda, Cokoloaca Pigara, Gambawarella, Nigalya Ponya, Panda Chico, Panda Éclatant, Panda Rojo, Petit Panda, Poonya, Crimson Ngo, Red Cat, Sankam, Small Panda, Thokya, Wah, Wokdonka, Woker and Ye.

Phylogenetics

Main article: Ailuridae

Recent molecular-systematic DNA research places the Red Panda into its own independent family Ailuridae. Ailuridae are in turn part of a trichotomy within the broad superfamily Musteloidea (Flynn et al., 2001) that also includes the Mephitidae (skunks) and the Procyonidae (raccoons) + Mustelidae (weasels). Unlike the Giant Panda, it is not a bear (Ursidae).

There are two extant subspecies of Red Panda: the Western Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) that lives in the western part of its range, and the somewhat larger Styan's Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens styani) that lives in the east-northeastern part of its range. The Western Red Panda has lighter pelage, especially in the face, while the Styan's Red Panda has more dramatic facial markings. The effective population size in the Sichuan population is larger and more stable than that in the Yunnan population, implying a southward expansion from Sichuan to Yunnan.

The taxonomic classification of both the Red Panda and Giant Panda has been under debate for many decades, as both species share characteristics of both bears and raccoons. However, they are only very distantly related by remote common ancestry from the Early Tertiary Period. Its common ancestor can be traced back to tens of millions of years ago with a wide distribution across Eurasia. Fossils of the Red Panda have been unearthed from China in the east to Britain (Parailurus anglicus) in the west (Hu, 1990,Ro), and most recently a handful of fossils (Pristinailurus bristoli, Miocene, considered to be a new genus and species of the Red Panda) have also been discovered in North America.

Biology and behaviour

Red Panda on a tree

Physical characteristics

The Red Panda is quite long: 79 to 120 cm (31 to 47 in), including the tail length of 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in). Males weigh 4.5 to 6.2 kg (10 to 14 lb); females 3 to 4.5 kg (7 to 10 lb). The Red Panda is specialized as a bamboo feeder, with long and soft reddish-brown fur on upper parts, blackish fur on lower parts, light face with tear markings and robust cranial-dental features. The light face has white badges similar to those of a raccoon, but each individual can have distinctive markings. Its roundish head has medium-sized upright ears, a black nose, and very dark eyes: almost pitch black. Its long bushy tail with six alternating yellowish red transverse ochre rings provides balance and excellent camouflage against its habitat of moss- and lichen-covered trees. The legs are black, short with thick fur on the soles of the paws hiding scent glands and serving as thermal insulation on snow-covered or ice surfaces. The Red Panda is specialized as a bamboo feeder with strong, curved and sharp semi-retractile claws standing inward for grasping of narrow tree branches, leaves and fruit. Like the Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), it has a “false thumb” that is an extension of the wrist bone.

Behaviour

Red Panda sleeping

Red Pandas are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk) and live in the slopes of the south of the Himalayas and the mountainous forests of the southwest of China and northeastern India, at altitudes of up to 4,800 meters, and generally do not venture below 1,800 meters. They are sedentary during the day resting in the branches of trees and in tree hollows and increase their activity only in the late afternoon and/or early evening hours. They are very heat sensitive with an optimal “well-being” temperature between 17 and 25°C, and cannot tolerate temperatures over 25°C. As a result, Red Pandas sleep during the hot noontime in the shady crowns of treetops, often lying stretched out on forked branches or rolled up in tree caves with their tail covering their face.

Red Pandas are very skillful and acrobatic animals that live predominantly in trees. They live in territories, frequently alone, and only rarely live in pairs or in groups of families. They are very quiet except for some twittering and whistling communication sounds. They search for food at night, running along the ground or through the trees with speed and agility and, after finding food, use their front paws to place the food into their mouths. Red pandas drink by plunging their paw into the water and licking their paws. Predators of Red Pandas are snow leopards (Uncia uncia), martens (Mustelidae) and humans. The species has also faced a great deal of human-induced habitat destruction.

Red Pandas begin their daily activity with a ritual washing of their fur by licking their front paws and massaging their back, stomach and sides. They also scrub their back and belly along the sides of trees or a rock. They then patrol their territory, marking it with a weak musk-smelling secretion from their anal gland and with their urine.

If a Red Panda feels threatened or senses danger, it will often try to scamper up into an inaccessible rock column or a tree. If they can no longer flee, they stand up on their hind legs, which makes them appear somewhat more daunting and allows them the possibility of using the razor-sharp claws on their front paws, which can inflict substantial wounds.

Diet

Red Pandas eating bamboo

The Red Panda eats mostly bamboo. Like the Giant 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 they also eat berries, fruit, mushrooms, roots, acorns, lichen, grasses, and they are known to supplement their diet with young birds, fish, eggs, small rodents, and insects on occasion. In captivity they will readily eat meat. Red Pandas are excellent climbers and forage largely in trees. The Red Panda does little more than eat and sleep due to its low-calorie diet.

Bamboo shoots are more easily digested than leaves and exhibit the highest digestibility in the summer and autumn, intermediate in the spring, and low in the winter. These variations correlate with the nutrient contents in the bamboo. The Red Panda poorly processes bamboo, especially the cellulose and cell wall components. This implies that microbial digestion plays only a minor role in its digestive strategy. The transit of bamboo through the red panda gut is very rapid (~2–4 hours). In order to survive on this poor-quality diet, the Red Panda has to select high-quality sections of the bamboo plant such as the tender leaves and shoots in large quantities (over 1.5 kg {3 lbs} of fresh leaves and 4 kg {9 lbs} of fresh shoots daily) that pass through the digestive tract fairly rapidly so as to maximize nutrient intake (Wei et al., 1999).

Studies in 2008 showed that the red panda can taste artificial sweetners such as aspartame, the only known non-primate to be able to do so.

Reproduction

A Red Panda gnawing on an exfoliated bamboo bush

The Red Panda is a solitary animal, usually seeking a partner only for mating from the end of December to the middle of February. After a gestation period of 112 to 158 days the female gives birth to one to four blind cubs weighing 110-130 g. This occurs between the end of May to the beginning of July. A few days before the birth the female begins to collect material, such as brushwood, grass and sheets, to use for the nest. The nest is normally located in a hollow tree or a rock column.

After the birth the mother cleans the cubs and in this way can immediately recognize each by knowing its smell. After one week the mother leaves the nest to clean herself. The cubs start to open their eyes about 18 days later, but not fully until 30 to 40 days. The eyes are first grey, and after six weeks slowly start to turn dark in colour, becoming fully darkened in about 70 days. The new litter remains at the nest for twelve weeks. After they leave the nest they will remain with their mother, weaning around 6-8 months of age.

The cubs will stay with their mother until the next cubs are born the following summer. The males only very rarely help with the raising of the new generation, and only if they live in pairs or in small groups. Red Pandas start to become sexually mature at about 18 months of age and are fully mature at 2-3 years. Their average lifespan is 8 - 10 years but can reach a maximum of 15 years.

The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park at Darjeeling has been successful in conservation breeding of Red Pandas.

The Valley Zoo in Edmonton has a successful breeding program and has had two pairs of Red Pandas born there, one pair in 2007 and another pair in 2008; on June 13, 2009, a single panda was born

The Red River Zoo in Fargo, North Dakota has bred Red Pandas for several years. In 2008, Red Panda twins were born, and on June 11th, 2009, a rare set of triplets arrived.

Threats

Red Pandas are classified as vulnerable. No reliable numbers exist for the total population, but it is threatened due to the fragmentation of its natural habitats, its small numbers, and its food specialization needs. In southwest China, the Red Panda is hunted for its fur, especially for its highly-valued bushy tail from which hats are produced. In those areas of China where the Red Panda lives, their fur is often used for local cultural ceremonies, and in weddings the bridegroom traditionally carries the hide. The "good-luck charm" Red Panda-tail hats are also used by Chinese newlyweds.

The continued clearing of the forests has also significantly reduced the population. It is now protected in all countries in which it lives, and the hunting of Red Pandas is illegal everywhere. Nevertheless, poaching continues and they are often illegally hunted and sold to zoos for dumping prices. The IUCN has mandated that red Pandas are a "threatened species" since 1996, but it is now listed as vulnerable.

The SREL DNA Lab at the University of Georgia has listed several key major threat indications. A 40% decrease in Red Panda populations has been reported in China over the last 50 years, and populations in western/Himalayan areas are considered to be lower. Red Pandas have a naturally low birth rate (usually single or twin births per year), and a high death rate in the wild.

Natural population subdivision by topography and ecology has been worsened by human encroachment, leading to severe fragmentation of the remaining wild population. For example, 40 animals in 4 groups share resources of a preserve in Nepal with 30,000 humans (only 6% of its 1710 km² is preferred Red Panda habitat). Small groups of animals, with little opportunity for exchange between them, face the risk of inbreeding, decreased genetic diversity, and even extinction. The Red Panda is endangered due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, grazing, and farming. For example, government-encouraged cheese production for tourists in Nepal contributed to fuel wood consumption for the factory, overgrazing by chauri (a cattle-yak hybrid) impacting bamboo growth, intrusion by herders, and dogs often attacking cubs. Agricultural terracing is having a detrimental effect on the former Red Panda habitat in Nepal. The Red Panda is also poached for fur clothing, and for the illegal pet trade.

References

• IUCN. 1990. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. [1]
• ITIS Taxonomical Serial No.: 621846. [2]
• Mace, G.M. and Balmford, A. (2000). “Patterns and processes in contemporary mammalian extinction.” In Priorities for the Conservation of Mammalian Diversity. Has the Panda had its day?, A. Entwhistle and N. Dunstone (eds). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. pp. 27-52.
• SREL DNA Lab, University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL): Red Pandas – Why are we interested in Red Pandas? Retrieved September 25, 2007. [3]
• SREL DNA Lab, University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL): Red Pandas – What are they? Retrieved September 25, 2007. [4]
• SREL DNA Lab, University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL): Red Pandas - Where do they live? Retrieved September 25, 2007. [5]
• Wei, Fuwen, Zuojian Feng, Zuwang Wang, Ang Zhou and Jinchu Hu. (1999). “Use of the nutrients in bamboo by the red panda Ailurus fulgens.” Journal of Zoology. Vol. 248. pp. 535-541. [6]

External links

• The Red Panda Project – The world's only non-profit organization dedicated to red panda conservation
• Animal Diversity Web: “Ailurus fulgens“
• Animal Fact Sheets: Red Panda
• Animal Info
• BBC – Wildfacts
• Birmingham Nature Centre – UK breeding programme
• Fossil find in northwest United States
• Perth Zoo Nepalese Red Panda
• Wellington Zoo Red Panda
• Red Pandas at the Red River Zoo