Red Panda

More Information

Red pandas resemble raccoons with a red coat, long tail, and white spots on their cheeks, mouth, and ears. An arboreal species, they spend most of their time in the branches, where they eat bamboo shoots, bamboo leaves, berries, flowers, and the occasional egg or insect. Bamboo makes up the bulk of their diet, but because the omnivores can’t fully digest bamboo fiber, red pandas spend a large part of their day foraging for necessary nutrients. Red pandas are a largely solitary animal. Males and females define separate territories via scent marking, coming together only for breeding. Females rear young alone, giving birth in leaf-lined tree cavities and leaving the cubs while foraging for food. After a year of care, mother and offspring go their separate ways, each pursuing a life of solitude among the trees.

Did You Know?

Red pandas are not related to cats, racoons, or pandas. According to DNA testing, they are the only living member of the taxonomic family Ailuridae.

Red pandas spend most of their time in trees. Special adaptations in their wrists and ankles help them grasp branches and climb head first down tree trunks.

They use a “panda’s thumb”— an extension of the wrist bone—to grasp fruit and branches.