Panda

The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens Latin: "fire-colored cat"), also known as the Lesser Panda, Bear Cat or Fire Fox, is a mostly herbivorous mammal, slightly larger than a domestic cat (55 cm long). more...

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The Red Panda has semi-retractile claws and, like the Giant Panda, has a "false thumb" which is really an extension of the wrist bone. Thick fur on the soles of the feet offers protection from cold and hides scent glands. For many decades the taxonomic classification of the panda was under debate as both the red panda and the distantly related giant panda share characteristics of both bears and raccoons. At first glance it may have a raccoon-like appearance.

Taxonomy and Common Name

The Red Panda is often classified as part of the raccoon family (Procyonidae), but many experts, including Wilson and Reeder (1993), now classify it as either a member of the bear family (Ursidae), or in its independent family (Ailuridae). However, it appears to be more closely related to procyonids than the Giant panda.

The most recent DNA research places the Red Panda in a family within the superfamily Musteloidea (which also contains the mustelid, skunk and raccoon families).

It is native to the Himalayas in India and Nepal and southern China. A handful of fossils have also been discovered in North America.

Its Western name is taken from a Himalayan language, possibly Nepali, but its meaning is now being worked on. One theory is that "panda" is an anglicisation of "poonya", which means "eater of bamboo". The Red Panda is also known as the Wah because of its distinctive cry. This name was given to it by Thomas Hardwicke, when he introduced it to Europeans in 1821. Other names include Bear-cat, Bright Panda, Cat-bear, Common Panda, Fire Fox, Fox Bear, Lesser Panda, Nigalya Ponya, Panda Chico, Panda Éclatant, Panda Rojo, Petit Panda, Poonya, Crimson Ngo, Red Cat-bear, Sankam, Thokya, Wah, Wokdonka, Woker, and Ye.

Diet

The Red Panda, despite having a digestive system more suited to a carnivorous diet, subsists primarily on bamboo. Like the Giant Panda, it cannot digest cellulose, so it must consume a large volume of bamboo to survive. Its diet also includes fruit, roots, acorns, lichen, grasses, and berries and Red Pandas are known to supplement their diet with young birds, eggs, small rodents, and insects on occasion. Captive Red Pandas readily eat meat. Red Pandas are excellent climbers and forage largely in trees. The Red Panda does little more than eat and sleep due to its low-calorie diet.

In culture

The Chinese name of the Red Panda is 小熊貓; (pinyin: xiǎo xióng māo), meaning 'small panda' or, more analytically, 'small bear-cat', in which 'bear-cat' is the Chinese name of the Giant Panda. The Chinese name of the Red Panda is based on that of the Giant Panda, unlike English where the Giant Panda has been named after the Red Panda. The Red Panda is also sometimes known as hǔo hú (火狐), which literally translates as "fire fox", a name which can refer both to the red fox and the Red Panda.

Read more at Wikipedia.org