32 Interesting Red Panda Facts | Fact Retriever.com (2024)

  • The red panda is known as the "first panda" because it was so named nearly 50 years before the giant panda.[2]
  • Even though the red panda is classified as a carnivore, its diet is almost exclusively bamboo.[2]
  • Englishman Major-General Thomas Hardwicke was most likely the first to describe the red panda, but he did not publish his work for several years. In the meantime, Frédéric Cuvier did not wait as long and published the first written description of the red panda in 1825.[2]
  • Red pandas, like giant pandas, live in Asia's high forests and are bamboo eaters. However, despite these similarities, red pandas and giant pandas are not related.[2]
  • Both red pandas and giant pandas have a pseudo-thumb, which is a modified wrist bone.[2]
  • 32 Interesting Red Panda Facts | Fact Retriever.com (1)

    The name "Firefox" is the red panda's nickname

  • The Mozilla Firefox logo is not a fox; it's actually a red panda. One of the red panda's nicknames is the red fox.[6]
  • Red pandas are the only living member of the family Ailuridae.[2]
  • The red panda is not actually a panda. It's believed that its name is derived from the Nepalese words "nigalya ponya," meaning "bamboo eater."[2]
  • A red panda eats approximately 200 bamboo shoots and leaves per day, which is about 20 to 30% of their body weight.[2]
  • Though listed as endangered, the red panda is poached regularly for its pelt and beautiful tail, which is often used on hats for wedding ceremonies in the Yunnan province of China.[2]
  • A red panda is also known as the lesser panda, the red bear cat, and the red cat bear.[2]
  • A red panda is a bit larger than a domestic/house cat.[2]
  • The red panda is the only known non-primate mammal to show a preference for the artificial sweetener aspartame.[5]
  • Is the red panda a bear? A type of raccoon? Throughout the years, scientists have placed the adorable animal in either the racoon or bear family. They now classify it as the only surviving member of the family Ailuridae.[1]
  • Scientists estimate that the red panda population will decline by over 10% in the next three generations.[1]
  • There are fewer than 10,000 mature red pandas left in the world, and only 2,500 left in the wild. Additionally, despite being listed as endangered, their population continues to decline due to habitat loss, poaching, and problems associated with inbreeding.[2]
  • The scientific name for the red panda is Ailurus fulgens, which means "red shining cat."[2]
  • 32 Interesting Red Panda Facts | Fact Retriever.com (2)

    The red panda is also known as the lesser panda, firefox, and red cat-bear

  • The red panda is found in five countries: Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, and China.[1]
  • Because red panda cubs are very small (just 115 grams) when they are born, their survival rate is as low as 50%.[1]
  • Due to their low-calorie diet, red pandas do little more than eat and sleep.[2]
  • The red panda is considered to be a living fossil.[2]
  • Red pandas are more closely related to skunks, weasels, and raccoons than they are to giant pandas.[2]
  • The first known written record of the red panda is found in a 13th-century Zhou (Chou) dynasty scroll. They weren't known to Europeans until six centuries later.[2]
  • The red panda was almost named "wha" because it has a loud cry or call that sounds like the word "wha."[2]
  • 32 Interesting Red Panda Facts | Fact Retriever.com (3)

    According to one scientist, the red panda is the most beautiful mammal on earth

  • Frédéric Cuvier, who published the first Western scientific description of the red panda in 1825, called it "quite the most handsome mammal in existence."[3]
  • A red panda named Babu escaped a nature reserve in England and spent four days on the lam. His escapades turned him into a media sensation before his recapture.[4]
  • A red panda cub weighs just about 3.5 ounces at birth and easily fits in the cupped palm of a hand.[3]
  • Scientists see red pandas as a critical indicator species for the health of the Himalayan ecosystem.[3]
  • The character Master Shifu in the movie Kung Fu Panda is a red panda.[3]
  • Red pandas have escaped from zoos in London, Birmingham, Rotterdam, and the Smithsonian Zoo. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums includes in their care package of information: "beware," red pandas are escape artists."[5]
  • There has been a 40% decrease in the red panda population over the last 50 years.[2]
  • Red pandas are typically shy and solitary, except when they are mating.[2]

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References

32 Interesting Red Panda Facts | Fact Retriever.com (2024)

FAQs

How many red pandas are left in 2024? ›

Endangered. It is estimated that there are less than 10,000 and as few as 2,500 red pandas remaining in the wild.

What are 5 things red pandas eat? ›

They like eating bamboo and sweet food

Red pandas are the result of what naturalists call convergent evolution: they're classified as carnivores, while like giant pandas, they feed mainly on bamboo. Red pandas supplement their diet with fruits, eggs, insects and birds, and they have a sweet tooth.

Why are there only 10,000 red pandas? ›

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are major threats to wild red pandas. Poaching is also one of the threats to this species, as red pandas are killed for food, medicine, pet trade and their distinctive red fur.

How many babies do red pandas have? ›

After a gestation period of 90 to 145 days, the female gives birth to a litter of one to four, usually one or two young.

What are 5 interesting facts about red pandas? ›

Before Seeing 'Turning Red,' Learn These Amazing Red Panda Facts
  • They Are the Only “True” Panda. ...
  • They Mostly Eat Vegetation. ...
  • They are Arboreal Acrobats. ...
  • Their Fur Provides Camouflage. ...
  • Their Home Is Fragmented. ...
  • They Are Smelly Socializers. ...
  • Cubs Are Playful. ...
  • They Can Endure Cold Weather.
Mar 11, 2022

Do red pandas like the rain? ›

Gloomy weather can ruin even the cheeriest mood, but not for pandas!! Pandas always love playing water and they become very active in the rain, especially young cubs.

What eats or kills red pandas? ›

The primary predator of the red panda is thought to be the snow leopard and occasionally martens. Cubs may be hunted by birds of prey and other small carnivores. The red panda is under threat because of habitat loss and the fragmentation of populations, poaching, the pet trade, and forest fires which destroy bamboo.

What are 10 things red pandas eat? ›

Food/Eating Habits

Because red pandas are obligate bamboo eaters, they are on a tight energy budget for much of the year. They may also forage for roots, succulent grasses, fruits, insects and grubs, and are known to occasionally kill and eat birds and small mammals.

Can red pandas swim? ›

Although red pandas are excellent swimmers, it is not something they do very often. In my time working with red pandas, I've seen a lot of cute and interesting behaviors. One of my favorite memories is from 2016, when Asa first arrived and made a splash during her debut — literally. She got in the water and swam!

What do pandas do 40 times a day? ›

Giant pandas can spend up to 16 hours a day eating, chowing down on more than 80 lbs (36 kg) of bamboo. Wondering where all the waste goes? Pandas can poop up to 40 times in a single day, sometimes even defecating in their sleep!

Do pandas have 20 teeth? ›

Pandas have 24 teeth when they are young and 40 to 42 teeth as adults.

Do pandas have six fingers? ›

A panda's paw has six digits—five fingers and an opposable pseudo-thumb (actually an enlarged wrist bone) it uses merely to hold bamboo while eating. 7. Of all the members of the bear family, only sloth bears have longer tails than pandas.

What are 4 interesting facts about red pandas? ›

Fun Facts
  • A Mostly-Vegetarian Carnivore. It might seem like an oxymoron, but the term 'carnivore', in this case, doesn't mean meat eater. ...
  • Extra Thumb. Like giant pandas, red pandas have a pseudo-thumb: an enlarged, modified wrist bone they use for grabbing bamboo stems and tree branches. ...
  • Adapted Aborealists. ...
  • Panda Cubs.

Do red pandas have 6 fingers? ›

Like Giant Pandas, Red Pandas have six fingers. The extra thumb is actually an extension of the wrist bone. Red Pandas are only active for around 12 hours of the day, at dawn and dusk and for some of the night; the rest of the time they rest, sounds like a good life!

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