Red Panda - Five Sisters Zoo

Individuals have a soft thick reddish-brown fur in the upper part of their bodies and black underneath. Their face is white, with a stripe of red brown from each eye to the corners of theeir mouth Their bushy tail is faintly ringed.

Facts

  • Diet: Carnivores
  • Weight: 3 to 6 kg
  • Length: 50–65 cm
  • Habitat: Montane forests
  • Life span: 23 years

Adapted to survive!

  • Their fur helps them camouflage the reddish colour on the top of their body merges with the moss of the forest while their black belly and limbs make them hard to spot from below.
  • Their long tale of up to 50 cm the balance while they move between trees.
  • Their feet have hairy soles and semi-retractile claws.
  • Individuals have flexible ankles allows them to climb down trees headfirst.

Threats

  • Poaching
  • sport hunting
  • The loss of nesting trees and bamboo in the Eastern Himalayas

 

IUCN Conservation Status

Endangered