This rust-coloured little animal has a false sixth ‘digit’ on its front paws which helps it to hold bamboo stems and leaves.
Description: The Red Panda is a reddish-brown colour with white ear rims, cheeks, muzzle and spots above the eyes. Its tail is about 18–50 cm long with alternating light and dark rings. The Red Panda has a false thumb on each hand which helps it hold bamboo stems and leaves. Partially retractable claws help it climb. Its paws are completely covered with fur, even underneath.
Diet: Red Pandas are omnivores. Their diet consists mostly of bamboo as well as grasses, acorns, roots, berries and lichen. They will also eat insects, eggs, young birds and rodents.
In the wild: Red Pandas are mostly nocturnal and solitary, but they form pairs during the breeding season. At about twelve months of age, young Red Pandas leave their mother to begin life on their own. Yellow-throated Marten are natural predators of young and adult Red Pandas and some birds will take cubs in the nest.
Threats: There are fewer than 2,500 adult Red Pandas left in the wild. They are threatened by habitat destruction and poaching for their fur.
Find out how you can help.
At Perth Zoo: Perth Zoo is part of a global breeding program for the species. Red Pandas can be seen in the Asian Rainforest, near the gibbon exhibit.
Did you Know?
Red Pandas communicate through a series of short whistles and squeaks.