Red panda - Not a miniature version of the Giant panda

red panda The origin of the name "Panda" is the Nepalese word "Nigalya ponya", which has the meaning of "eater of bamboo". And this explains the similarity of the names of the Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and the Giant panda: Both species are specialized on eating bamboo but are not as closely related as their names might indicate. The Red panda's dependency on bamboo isn't as distinct as in the Giant panda, which feeds exclusively on bamboo. Red pandas also consume roots, acorns, berries, lichens and sometimes eggs and young birds. The small bears are too slow to carry off faster animals. Anyway is their way of life marked by a certain kind of portliness. They spend much time resting on high branches, curled up or stretched, depending on outside temperature. Thus Red pandas are saving energy since bamboo is very low on energy content. Up in the trees they are quite safe from their predators like the Snow leopard; down on the ground Red pandas wouldn't have any chance against them.link

Keywords: red , brown , tail

Which zoos have them?
Birmingham Zoo (United States), Minnesota Zoo (United States), Saint Louis Zoological Park (United States) and Smithsonian National Zoological Park (United States)

The Lesser panda, red cat-bear, red panda is listed as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Namings for the red panda
A young / baby of a red panda is called a 'cub'. The females are called 'sow' and males 'boar'.
Countries
Bhutan, Burma, China, India, Laos and Nepal
Red panda habitats
Forest and Temperate forest
Some facts about the
Lesser panda

Adult weight : 4.325 kg (9.515 lbs)

Maximum longevity : 19 years

Female maturity :550 days

Male maturity : 550 days

Gestation : 116 days

Weaning : 137 days

Litter size : 2

Litters per year : 1

Interval between litters : 365 days

Weight at birth : 0.1 kg (0.22 lbs)

Weight at weaning : 1.14 kg (2.508 lbs)

Basal metabolic rate : 5 W

Body mass : 5.74 kg (12.628 lbs)

Temperature : 37.85 °C (100.13 °F)

Source: AnAge, licensed under CC

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