Red panda

The fire-coloured creature that got the name 'panda' first

The red panda is as small as a cat, red like a fox, with a tail like a raccoon's. It's not related to the giant panda, but it got the name 'panda' first! It lives in trees in the Himalayas and eats bamboo. In the cold it wraps its long tail around itself like a blanket. When scared, it stands on its hind legs and raises its paws — that's its 'scary' pose!

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) lives in the temperate forests of the Himalayas and south-west China at 2,200–4,800 m; it is the only member of its family (Ailuridae), closer to raccoons and weasels. It was described in 1825 — 48 years before the giant panda; the word 'panda' comes from Nepali 'ponya' (bamboo eater). Like the giant panda it has a 'false thumb' — convergent evolution. Its diet is 95% bamboo despite a carnivore's digestion — it eats 20,000 leaves a day. It lives in trees and climbs down head-first. Fewer than 10,000 remain in the wild; numbers fell 50% in 20 years due to deforestation and poaching. The Firefox browser logo is actually a red panda.

Fun facts

• The 'fox' on the Firefox logo is actually a red panda!
• The red panda got the name 'panda' 48 years before the giant panda.
• A red panda eats 20,000 bamboo leaves a day.