The Red Panda is a small mammal native to the Eastern Himalayas and South-Central China. Slightly larger than a house cat, they have red-brown fur on their backs, black fur on their chests, and a red-white striped pattern on their long furry tails. Their diet is mostly Bamboo, but they are omnivorous, so they also eat eggs, bugs, birds, berries, flowers, and small mammals. They are mostly nocturnal, but they can be known to be active during the day. They are currently classified as vulnerable, with a population of fewer than 10,000 adults. Their habitat is primarily temporate forrests dense with bamboo, and they cannot tolerate temperatures greater than 77 degrees fahrenheit. Their behavior is very similar to that of a cat. when they feel threatened, they will often run away and try climbing trees to escape predators. when cornered they stand on their hind legs and make themselves look bigger, and defend themselves with their sharp front claws.
The red Panda is vulnerable because of competition with livestock and deforrestation in the regions of asia where they live. Though competing livestock doesn't eat the bamboo, it does trample the bamboo, leaving less for the Red Pandas to eat. They also have a very low birthrate, usually single or twin births every gestation period of 150 days.
To help with conservation we need to survey red panda behaviour and habitats in the wild to be able to understand how to protect them better in the wild.
