Red Panda

Endangered

Ailurus fulgens

Size: 42 inches long (including tail), 7 - 14 pounds

Range/Habitat: Sichuan and Yunnan, China, Himalaya region, and Mynamar in temperate bamboo forests

The red and white coats of the red panda blend excellently with the red mosses and white lichens growing on the trees in the forests of Asia, where red pandas can be found. It can get quite cold in these regions too and the red panda is well equipped for cold weather. They have long bushy tails that help balance them while they are climbing through the trees and it can help keep them warm when they curl up in it. Their fur even goes so far as to cover the soles of their feet.

Conservation Concerns:

The red panda is currently being threatened by many of the same evils that plague most of the other Asian species we have looked at. These are habitat loss due to both agriculture and logging, and population declines due to hunting for meat and pelts. Recent estimates put the wild population at only 2500 individuals