Red panda

Physical features

• The red panda has several common names such as “fire colored cat" and “fire fox,” but it shares more similarities with raccoons and bears.

• Currently, two subspecies of red panda are recognized, and there is debate within the scientific community that they may actually be two separate species.

  • • Himalayan red panda: Ailurus fulgens fulgens

    • Chinese red panda: Ailurus fulgens refulgens (also known as Ailurus styani)

• Red pandas have a lustrous reddish-brown coat that provides effective camouflage against reddish-brown moss found on trees in their habitat. Longer coarse hairs cover the wooly undercoat that keeps them warm.

• Adults weigh about eight to 14 pounds and are approximately 22-24 inches in length. They have long, furry tails that are an additional 15-19 inches long.

• The bushy tail is marked with alternating red and buff rings. Red pandas use their tails for balance in trees and to help keep their bodies warm when they curl up to sleep in cold temperatures.

• Like giant pandas, red pandas also have a pseudothumb, though it is not as large as the giant panda’s. The pseudothumb is not a digit but is instead an adaptation of the wrist bone that assists in grasping bamboo.

• Red pandas display nocturnal (active at night), diurnal (active during the day), and crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) activity patterns.

• They lead an arboreal lifestyle, spending most of their time in trees. 

Diet: Primarily Herbivore

• Wild – primarily bamboo leaves, berries, and fruit; they will also eat birds, small mammals, eggs, and other grasses (besides bamboo)

• Zoo – Fiber biscuits, bamboo, and some fresh fruit (e.g., apples, grapes)

Bamboo

• Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the grass family. Depending on local soil and climatic conditions, it is capable of growing up to almost 24 inches (60 centimeters) a day. Bamboos are of cultural and economic significance in many places, especially in southern and southeast Asia. They can be used to make construction materials, furniture, clothing, and various food items.

• There are approximately 1,450 species of bamboo, exhibiting great variation in height from only one foot to more than 120 feet tall. Diameter also varies from a fraction of an inch to 12 inches.

• Some species flower annually while others may only flower every 100+ years. In some species, the entire grove may die after flowering. Large-scale bamboo die-offs have historically caused giant panda population declines, delays in estrous cycles, and human-panda conflict when they forage into crop lands.

• Bamboo Technicians (part of the Animal Nutrition Kitchen team) work full-time to harvest donated bamboo within about a 50-mile radius of the Zoo and will travel as far as Dahlonega for a good harvest site. They harvest up to 2,500 pounds of bamboo each week.

• Before accepting donations, the Bamboo Team evaluates the growth site to determine if the species is one the pandas will eat and observe the condition of the site.

Reproduction

• Wild red pandas are solitary except for the breeding season, when they can be found in small groups. Breeding season is early winter.

• Red pandas become sexually mature at 18 months of age.

• Both males and females may mate with more than one partner in a season.

• The average gestation period is 135 days. Births occur in the spring and summer.

• Litter size is typically two, although it can be one to four cubs.

• Red panda mothers care for and nurse their cubs in nests made in rock crevices and tree hollows.

• Cubs are born with eyes and ears shut; their eyes open at around day 18. Newborns’ skin is pink, and they have grey fur (the red color appears around day 14).

• Cubs are weaned between 3 to 6 months (13-22 weeks) of age.

Interpretive Information

• Red pandas mark their territory and home ranges with urine and secretions from anal glands and glands on the pads of their feet.

• Though they are usually quiet, red pandas have been observed to use seven distinct vocalizations which include a whistle, quack-snort, twitter, squeal, bleat, exhale, and snort.

• When provoked, they utter a sharp spitting hiss or snort while standing on their hind legs.

• Red pandas often communicate using body language such as head bobbing or tail arching.

• Care team members scatter bamboo throughout the habitat and in feeders throughout the space. This allows the red panda(s) to forage for their food.

• In cold temperatures, red pandas can reduce their metabolic rate without lowering their body temperature, apparently as a strategy to conserve energy.

• Both subspecies are represented in AZA facilities and have historically been housed at Zoo Atlanta.

Updated November 2020