With a cute face, abundant reddish-brown fur and a small fluffy body, the red panda is an animal made popular by the latest Disney movie Red as it fights to survive extinction. In its latest film, Pixar tells the story of Mei Lei, a 13-year-old girl about to enter her teens who turns into a huge red panda every time she gets excited.
But unlike what we can see in the film, in reality, red pandas are tiny acrobats that are similar in size to a domestic cat. Red pandas are excellent acrobats who often live by swinging and climbing trees in Asian forests, so they are rarely seen.
So are red pandas
Some say that the Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) looks similar to that of a kitten, and that is why it was previously associated with raccoons since its exact relationship with the giant panda was unknown, but the most recent DNA investigations revealed that they do indeed belong to the same family.
The physical differences between the two species are obvious, while the giant panda is a huge bear, the Red Panda is characterized by weighing between 3 and 7 kilos and reaching a maximum size of 63 centimeters, although its ringed tail can measure up to 28 centimeters. of length. Its most characteristic feature is a bright reddish cloak that hides three layers of fur, as well as having bright round eyes in a small triangular face.
Regarding their behavior, we give you some key information that distinguishes them:
- What they like the most is sleeping and eating, since they spend more than half the day sleeping.
- They are normally solitary animals, but during the mating season they usually live in pairs.
- To communicate, they usually make curious gestures such as arching their tails, shaking their heads or emitting a sound called huff-quack that sounds like a quacking duck.
- If they feel in danger, they can release a strong-smelling liquid through glands near their tail.
Where does the red panda live?
The species lives in the Asian forests of Nepal, India, Bhutan, northern Myanmar (Burma) and central China, it is often difficult to see them because they are always found in high altitude and forested areas such as the Himalayas or southern from Tibet. These areas have the perfect conditions for the species to develop due to the abundant food and suitable climate, it is also in these tall trees where they spend the vast majority of their lives in the trees, climbing, sleeping and taking in plenty of sunlight.
What does a red panda eat?
Although red pandas belong to the carnivorous order of animals, their diet is actually based on fruits, acorns, roots, eggs, and occasionally rodents and birds. Most of their food consists of bamboo, since each day they must eat up to 2 kilos of that plant, and like giant pandas, evolution gave red pandas a bone on the side of their claws, which gives them allows to grasp the bamboo shoots.
Why is the red panda endangered?
The disappearance of the forests in their natural habitat, diseases of the species and illegal trafficking for the purpose of the pet trade have meant that this animal is about to disappear. In recent years, organizations such as Free the Bear managed to rescue Red Panda specimens that were about to be sold in wildlife markets.
How much does a red panda cost?
The cost of a red panda is between 50,000 and 70,000 dollars, according to the organization Free the Bears that seeks to stop the illegal trade in species. Red pandas receive protection from the local laws of the countries where they are found to prevent the sale of more specimens, but in recent years seizures of the showy skins that characterize the species have been made, to this is added a new and exotic tendency to consume panda meat.
You have to remember that this is a beautiful species that is about to disappear, although we would all like to cuddle a cute little red panda, the best place for it to live is in the forests where it belongs.
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