RED PANDAS-
- Red pandas have a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many other foods as well fruits, acorns, roots, and eggs.
- Like giant pandas, the red panda has a modified wrist bone that acts as as sixth digit or thumb
- Its scientific name means ‘fire-coloured cat’, the red panda actually shares more similarities with bears and racoons
- Currently, red pandas are considered members of their own unique family, the Ailuridae
- Their soft, dense fur covers their entire body even the soles of their feet
- Red pandas use their long, bushy tails to balance when they’re in trees
- They also cover themselves with their tails in winter
- Red panda fossils have been discovered in North America that date as far back as 5 million years
- This mild-mannered animal can defend its territory by standing on its hind legs and using their sharp claws to strike out if threatened
- The red panda can also release a strong odor from scent glands at the base of the tail that may make a predator think twice about a red-panda meal
- These animals spent most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft
- Females usually give birth in the summer, and their babies usually depend on the mother for four months.