8 interesting facts about red panda

Here are some interesting facts about red panda that will leave you amazed.

Despite their name, red pandas belong to a different family (Ailuridae) and are more closely related to weasels and raccoons than to giant pandas. 

They are not closely related to giant pandas

Red pandas have a modified wrist bone that acts as a pseudo-thumb, helping them grasp bamboo and climb trees. 

They have a "false thumb"

Red pandas are skilled climbers, using their semi-retractable claws, flexible ankles, and long tails for balance and agility in trees. 

They are arboreal acrobats

While they belong to the order Carnivora, red pandas primarily eat bamboo, along with some fruits, roots, and insects. 

They are classified as carnivores, but eat mostly bamboo

Red panda populations are declining due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching, and they are listed as an endangered species by the IUCN. 

They are endangered

Red pandas use scent glands at the base of their tails and between their foot pads to mark their territory, and they have a special adaptation on their tongues to interpret these scents. 

They have a unique scent-marking behaviour

Their reddish-brown fur helps them blend in with the foliage of their mountainous forest habitat.

Their fur provides camouflage

Red pandas are typically solitary animals, but they come together during the breeding season, which occurs from January to March in the Northern Hemisphere. 

They are solitary except during the breeding season