Red Pandas

In News 

Recently, Singalila National Park launched programme that aims to release about 20 red pandas in a period of five years

About Red Pandas

• Scientific Name : Ailurus fulgens
• Red Panda is largely vegetarian, eating chiefly young leaves and shoots of bamboo. 
  • It also takes fruit, roots, succulent grasses, acorns, lichens, birds’ eggs and insects
• Description
  • The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body and thick russet fur. 
  • The belly and limbs are black, and there are white markings on the side of the head and above its small eyes. 
  • They are shy, solitary and arboreal animals and considered an indicator species for ecological change. 
• Habitat 
  • Red pandas live in high-altitude forests of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. 
  • They are mainly arboreal species, often living close to water sources and in densely bamboo covered areas.
    • Almost 50% of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas. 
• Protection Status 
  • Red pandas are currently listed as endangered species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and their numbers are believed to be less than 10,000 individuals in the wild.
    • However, the exact figure remains unknown.

Source:TH