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 Red panda at the Utica Zoo |
The red panda is a mammal who is a smaller relative of the giant panda. The red panda is a member of the order carnivora. There is some argument that suggests the red panda is more closely related to the raccoon or the bear. The red panda is called by many names. Some of them are lesser panda, hun-ho, wah, and red cat bear. Every spring, one or two young are born. They each weigh about four ounces. The young stay with their mother for about one year. The size of the red panda is about 20-24 inches long, not counting its 11-19 inch sharp tail. The red panda's weight is about 7-10 pounds. It is a rusty red to dark chestnut in color and has black legs. |
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While we were at the Utica Zoo, we observed our animal, the red panda. The first thing that we noticed was that it was very curious. It also seemed a little nervous because it didn't know what we were doing there. The red panda kept on making weird chirping noises while it was pacing. It had large claws, a sharp tail, black legs, and a reddish body and face. One of the red pandas licked a stick on the ground, walked away, and then came back to lick it again.
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The red panda lives in the bamboo forests of the Himalayan Mountains; its range is in Western China. The red panda lives at elevations from 2000 to 4800 meters. At this elevation the weather is cool and moist with a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees above, and bamboo and rhododendrons below. The red panda makes its home in hollow trees or dens. |
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Berries, mushrooms, grasses and bark are all part of the red panda's diet. Some of the meat that it eats are: insects, bird eggs, bird nestlings, mice, and bamboo rats. The red panda also eats bamboo stalks. It has a simple stomach and a very short intestine. Because of this, it can get the most from a low calorie diet. One special adaptation that the red panda has is that it feeds at night. This helps the panda because not a lot of its predators are out at night. It also helps because other animals that eat the same food as the red panda are not out at night. The sharp claws of the red panda are used for grabbing its favorite food, the bamboo. |
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One environmental change that has harmed the red panda is the decrease in the amount of bamboo available. People in Asia have been cutting down bamboo, which is the red panda's main food.
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"Panda." New Standard Encyclopedia. 1995. "Red Panda."Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. 1994. Red Panda. http://www. one. net/~shive/red panda. Schaller, George. "Panda." Encyclopedia Americana. 1994.
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