A CUTE RED PANDA IN PNHZ PARK, DARJEELING. 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.
Main Gate of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (also called the Darjeeling Zoo)
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park at Darjeeling has been successful in conservation breeding of Red Pandas. PNHZ Park is the zoological park in the town of Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. The zoo is at an average elevation of 2133.5 m. It specializes in breeding animals adapted to alpine conditions, and has successful captive breeding programes for the Snow leopard, the critically endangered Himalayan wolf and the Red panda. The zoo is spread over an area of 44 hectares and attracts 300,000 visitors every year.
A Red Panda in Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (also called the Darjeeling Zoo)
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.
Red Panda family in the Darjeeling Zoo.
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.
The continued clearing of the forests has also significantly reduced the population of Red Panda. 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.
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 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.
ideal place for red pandas.
The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning "cat-foot black-and-white") is a bear native to central-western and southwestern China.The Giant Panda was previously thought to be a member of the Procyonidae (raccoon) family.
Though belonging to the order Carnivora, the Giant Panda has a diet which is 99% bamboo. The Giant Panda may eat other foods such as honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, and bananas when available.
The Giant Panda is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body.
The Giant Panda is a conservation reliant endangered species. According to the latest report, China has 239 Giant Pandas in captivity and another 27 living outside the country. It also estimated that around 1,590 pandas are currently living in the wild.
Giant Panda conservation breeding centre at Chengdu, China.
so cute! twin red panda at conservation breeding centre.
