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Red panda

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Red Panda
A. f. fulgens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Suborder:
Caniformia
Superfamily:
Musteloidea
Family:
Ailuridae
Genus:
Ailurus
Species:
A. fulgens
Binomial name
Ailurus fulgens
F. Cuvier, 1825
Red Panda range

The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens Latin: "fire-colored cat"), also known as the Lesser Panda, Bear Cat or Fire Fox[1], is a mostly herbivorous mammal, slightly larger than a domestic cat (55 cm long). 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 both the Red Panda and Giant Panda has been under debate as both share characteristics of both bears and raccoons. Most opinions would now suggest that the similarity in their common names is not justified by a close genetic relationship.

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.[2]

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).[citation needed]

It is native to the Himalayas in India and Nepal and southern China. A handful of fossils have also been discovered in North America.[3]

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

File:DSC01626.JPG
A Red Panda at the Darjeeling Zoo.

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.

The Red Panda is the state animal of Sikkim. Red Pandas are a little bigger than a domesticated cat and their cubs are a little bigger than a domesticated kittens. (Kahili, 2006.)

The term firefox, as used to describe the Red Panda, has been propagated by its use in the web browser Mozilla Firefox. Although the browser logo depicts a fox with a fiery tail rather than a Red Panda, in early 2005 the Mozilla Store was selling toy stuffed Red Pandas to promote the browser name change from Firebird with the release of Firefox 1.0 (photo).

Red Pandas have been hunted for their fur and their bushy tail. Their tails can be turned into feather dusters. Hunters also capture them and sell them illegally to zoos. However, most zoos purchase animals legally. (Kahili, 2006.)

In May 2005, the Red Panda gained a surge of popularity in Japan when a panda named Futa (風太) living in the Chiba Animal Park was found to be able to stand on his hind legs like a human for up to 30 seconds at a time. Not to be outdone, another zoo, the Yokohama Zoo Zoorasia in Yokohama soon found another "gifted" red panda within their confines, Dale (デール) who was capable of walking a considerable distance bipedal. While both of the standing pandas have gained the species many fans in Japan, both the Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido and the World Wide Fund for Nature have expressed concern that the increased commercialism of this species may be putting too much burden on the animals. Futa was featured in a commercial for the Japan Tobacco cigarette company. Also, Red Panda habitats are sometimes destroyed.

Footnotes

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References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ailurus fulgens.
  1. ^ Which can also refer to the Red Fox
  2. ^ "The Procyonidae Family". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  3. ^ "Red Panda". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
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