About the Red Panda 1­11­16 Red pandas, also known as the lesser panda are red, racoon like animals that live in the mountains of Nepal and Northern Myanmar (Burma). They also live in Central China. Did you know, that the Red panda has several other names? Here are some: Firefox and lesser panda. The Red panda got the name lesser panda because the word lesser means small and the Red panda is smaller than a Giant panda. The Red panda got the name Firefox because of the Red panda’s color. The Red panda’s scientific name is Ailurus Fulgens. (Ail­u­rus­ful­gens). The Red panda has a lot of characteristics. Here are some of the Red panda’s characteristics.They have 38 teeth, a small body, which is good for climbing, and an enlarged wrist bone located on each paw that serves as a thumb to help it climb trees and bamboo stalks. They weigh 11 lbs.They, are 1.9 ft. long and 18 in. tall. They can live up to 14 years when kept in captivity, and 7­8 years in the wild. There are not a lot of differences between male and female Red pandas, except their size and weight.The Red panda’s red fur helps it blend in with the reddish­brown moss that grows on the branches it lives in. Did you know that the Red panda is in the same group as bears, raccoons, skunks , seals, sealions, and walruses? Red pandas can stick their tongues out to taste the air,just like snakes! These are the characteristics of a Red panda. The Red panda’s diet is not too big, and not too small. They eat bamboo, fresh shoots, berries, blossoms, bird eggs, and other various plants, but mostly they like to eat bamboo. “Why bamboo?” you ask? Here’s why: Red pandas like to eat bamboo because bamboo is high in fiber and help the Red panda get a lot of nutrients. They have a small bony projection on their wrist that helps them grip bamboo stalks and grab their food. That is the Red panda’s diet. The Red panda’s habitat is the cool climate bamboo forests in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Xizang colonies in China. The environment the Red panda lives in is the Eastern Himalayas, Red pandas share part of their range with Giant pandas, which does not cause competition. They sleep in trees because the reddish­brown moss on the trees matches their fur and keeps them camouflaged, which protects them from their predators. Due to a loss of nesting trees and bamboo, the Red panda’s population is going down.That is the Red panda’s habitat. Here are facts about the red panda’s family life. They are shy and solitary animals except when mating, and no, they do not mate for life. Females give birth in the spring and summer. Young ones remain in their nest for about 90 days. In those 90 days, the mother Red panda trains her cubs to climb trees, and hunt for food. Red pandas give birth to two babies at a time. These are fact about the Red panda’s family life. In conclusion, I learned about how the Red panda gets its food and where it lives. I also learned that the Red panda is not only a panda, but more like a bear and a raccoon. It can also taste the air with its tongue, like a snake! I think that we can stop the red panda from becoming extinct by not cutting down the trees that they live in, and grow new trees so Red pandas have more places to live. Thank you for reading.