Ailurus fulgens
red panda

Red pandas are found throughout the Himalayan mountains between 2,200 and 4,800 meters in elevation in northern Burma and the districts of western Sichuan and Yunnan. Their geographic range is bounded in the north by the Namlung Valley in the Mugo District and the Lake Rara region of northern Nepal, in the south by the Liakiang Range of western Yunnan, and the northern and eastern boundary is the upper Min Valley of western Sichuan. (Roberts and Gittleman 1984)

Red pandas live in temperate climates in deciduous and coniferous forests. There is usually an understory of bamboo and hollow trees. The average temperature is 10 to 25 degrees Celsius, and the average annual rainfall is 350 centimeters. (Glatston 1994, Roberts and Gittleman 1984)

Red pandas are approximately 560 to 625 mm long, with relatively long, furry tails, from 370 to 472 mm long. The tails are marked with about 12 alternating red and buff rings, and are not prehensile. The head is round; the rostrum is shortened; and the ears are large, erect, and pointed. Long, coarse guard hairs cover the body, and the undercoat is soft, dense, and woolly. The body is darker in eastern specimens. The face is predominantly white with reddish-brown "tear" marks under the eyes. The fur on the upper side of its body is reddish-brown, while ventrally it is glossy black. The legs are black and the soles of its feet are covered with dense, white hair. There is no sexual dimorphism in color or size between males and females. Front legs are angled inward, leading to its waddling walk. The feet are plantigrade.

The red panda has a robust skull with a poorly developed zygomatic arch, sagittal crest, and postorbital process. The palatines extend beyond the level of the most posterior molar, the mesopterygoid fossa is constricted anteriorly, and the auditory bullae are small. The post glenoid process is large and anteriorly recurved, and an alisphenoid canal is present.

The mandible is robust but relatively short, and the mandibular symphysis is constricted. The coronoid process is strongly hooked posteriorly, and the mandibular condyles are large.

Premolar one and molar one and two are wider than they are long and have accessory cusplets. Each upper premolar has more than one cusp, and premolar three has a well developed paracone and hypocone.

(Morris 1965, Vaughan 1972, Roberts and Gittleman 1984)

The maximum lifespan of the red panda is 14 years, but the average is eight to ten.

Red panda's activity changes throughout the year based on the temperature, feeding regimes, and the presence of young. The normally solitary A. fulgens are most active at dusk, dawn, and during the night. Movement on the ground is done by a slow, cross-extension gait, and faster bounding or trotting. Ailurus fulgens is arboreal, sleeping in nests in evergreens. They descend trees headfirst and display their flexibility as they move from branch to branch. The tail is used for balance when in trees, while on the ground it is carried straight and horizontally. Red pandas engage in several leisure behaviors after awakening or eating. They lick the whole body and limbs, wash their face with a paw, and stretch or rub their back and abdomen against a stationary object such as a tree or rock.

(Roberts and Gittleman 1984, Morris 1965, Kowalski 1976, Glatston 1994)

Red pandas exhibit several visual displays during intraspecific interactions, including arching the tail and back, the slow raising and lowering of the head while emitting a low intensity puffing, turning the head while jaw-clapping, shaking the head from side to side, a bipedal posture with forelegs extended above the head, and staring.

Red pandas eat berries, blossoms, bird eggs, bamboo leaves, and the small leaves of other plants. Bamboo (the leaves of which are the red panda's primary food source) is bent down to bring the leaves within reach of the mouth. Food is grasped in a forepaw and brought to the mouth while sitting, standing, or lying on the back. Food grasped in this manner is inserted in the side of the mouth, sheared, then chewed extensively before it is swallowed. (Glatston 1994, Roberts and Gittleman 1984)

If threatened, red pandas climb a tree or strike out with their semi-retractile claws. One of their primary predators is the snow leopard (Uncia uncia).

Red pandas have no negative impact on humans. (Glatston 1994)

Red pandas are important socially, scientifically and economically. They are the national animal of Sikkim and the mascot of the International Tea Festival in Darjeeling. Red panda skins are used to used for hats and their tails as dusters. Furthermore, red panda skin may still be worn by the bridegroom in a local Chinese wedding. Red pandas have been pivotal in research on the taxonomy of the families Ursidae and Procyonidae. Ailurus fulgens is illegally hunted and sold to zoos or killed for their skin. Very few zoos purchase these illegal specimens, making this a fairly unproductive business, but skins can be found in local villages and are used in cultural ceremonies.

(Glatston 1994)

Red pandas are threatened by deforestation and other human activities. Deforestation eliminates nesting sites and sources of food, and isolates populations into small fragments separated by inhospitable habitats. Ailurus fulgens is the occasional target of game hunting, and it is often found in traps set for musk deer. Red pandas are also outcompeted by local livestock for food. Expanding human populations in Asia and the increasing need for land and lumber are significant threats to the survival of this species. Red pandas are protected and listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Threatened and Endangered Species, and were declared endangered in March 1988. (Glatston 1994, Roberts and Gittleman 1984)

Red pandas have been a taxonomic enigma, their placement in a carnivoran family has been enormously controversial. They were originally placed in the family Procyonidae because of similarities in teeth, skull, ringed tail, and other morphological characteristics. They were then placed in the family Ursidae because of similarities in DNA. However, unlike other members of these two families, Ailurus fulgens has an Asiatic origin and has never migrated to the new world. Red pandas are considered members of their own family, Ailuridae, based on new molecular systematics research. (Morris 1965, Glatston 1994, Wilson and Reeder 1993) (Flynn et al., 2005)