Red Pandas – Did You Know?

Did you know the “Red Panda” isn’t  closely related to giant pandas?  Red Pandas are more closely related to raccoons than bears, though they do share the pseudo-thumb design as giant pandas, which helps them grasp their food.  Like giant pandas, the red  panda’s diet is mostly bamboo, but it prefer the more nutritious leaf tips or tender shoots and will supplement meals with fruits, insects and grubs,

These rusty brown creatures are about as big as a large house cat (20-28 inches long) with an additional 10-20 inch long tail.  It has a large, round heads and short snouts with big, pointed ears. Their faces are white with brown “tear” marks on their eyes.  They have soft, dense  undercoat covered by  long, coarse fur which keeps them warm and dry.  Their long, bushy tails help these tree dwelling animals keep their balance as they make their way from branch to branch.  You might think their red fur would be a hindrance when wanting to hide, but the red panda’s fur helps them to blend in with the reddish-brown moss that covers the fir trees branches.

A research study in 2009 reveals that red pandas have a “sweet tooth” too.  When researches offered bowls of plain water, naturally sweetened water, or artificially sweetened water – the red pandas preferred the artificially (neotame, sucralose  and aspartame)  sweeten water.  The red panda’s ability to taste aspartame was thought only unique to humans and certain monkeys and apes.

Would you like to read more about the Red Panda? Click here to listen to or read our transcript: Not All Pandas Are Great!