Red panda

Template:Taxobox begin
Template:StatusEndangered Template:Taxobox image Template:Taxobox begin placement Template:Taxobox regnum entry Template:Taxobox phylum entry Template:Taxobox classis entry Template:Taxobox ordo entry Template:Taxobox familia entry Template:Taxobox genus entry Template:Taxobox species entry Template:Taxobox end placement Template:Taxobox section binomial Template:Taxobox end The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens Latin "fire colored cat") Chinese: 小熊貓; (pinyin: xiǎo xióng māo) or lesser panda, is a mostly vegetarian cat-sized (60 cm long) mammal. Its classification is uncertain. It was formerly classified in the raccoon family (Procyonidae), but now many experts, including Wilson and Reeder, classify it as a member of the bear family (Ursidae) or in its own family the Ailuridae. It is native to the Himalayas and southern China. Fossil evidence suggests that it once also existed in North America.

Its Western name is taken from a Himalayan language, possibly Nepalese, but its meaning is uncertain. One theory is that "panda" is an anglicisation of "poonya", which means "eater of bamboo". Its Chinese name means "little panda," named after the Giant Panda. Because of its distinctive cry, it is also commonly known as the Wah.

Like the Giant Panda, it eats large amounts of bamboo, but its diet also includes fruit, roots, acorns, and lichen, and captive Red Pandas readily eat meat. Red Pandas are excellent climbers, and forage largely in trees. Since the Red Panda mainly eats bamboo, it has a low-calorie diet which causes it to not do much more than eat and sleep.

The red panda has a digestive system more suited to a carnivorous diet, and cannot digest cellulose, meaning that it must eat a great deal of bamboo to survive. Red pandas are known to supplement their diet with young birds, eggs, small rodents and insects on occasion.

The Red panda has semi-retractile claws and a "false thumb", really an extension of the wrist bone. Thick fur on the soles of the feet offers protection from cold, and also hides scent glands.

Adults are largely solitary and mainly nocturnal. Females give birth to litters of one to four young (most often two) between mid-May and mid-July. The young are born fully-furred, but blind and helpless, and are weaned at five months of age. Sexual maturity occurs at age 18–20 months.

The species is endangered, largely because of habitat loss, though there is also some illegal hunting. Red Pandas are often killed for their coats to make fur hats and clothes. Also, because of the growing population in China, Their habitats are knocked down in order to build houses. Approximately 10,000 pandas die per year, and approximately 7,000 of the 10,000 die from deforestation.

There are two subspecies of red panda: Ailurus fulgens fulgens and Ailurus fulgens styani. A.f. fulgens is a little smaller and its facial fur is much lighter; its range covers Nepal, Tibet, the Indian states of Assam and Sikkim; Bhutan and China. A.f. styani has more pronounced facial markings; it is restricted to northern Myanmar and some areas of China. The red panda depicted in the photo seems to be A.f. fulgens. The red panda is the state animal of Sikkim.

Firefox

The Chinese name hǔo hú (火狐; fire fox) can refer to the Red Fox or to the Red Panda. However, the name normally used for the Red Panda is xiǎo xióng māo (小熊貓, literally translated as "little bear cat").

The term "firefox" to describe the Red Panda has been propagated by its use in the web browser, Mozilla Firefox, although the logo of Firefox is a fox with its tail on fire as opposed to a red panda.

External links

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