World's Weirdest Animals: Red Panda

Hailing from the Himalayas is a quirky red creature that can climb as well as a monkey, on this episode of world’s weirdest animals we bring you the red panda.

First written about in a 13th century Chinese scroll, the red panda fast, nimble and adorable. They live high up in trees in the Himalayas, Myanmar and Nepal. Other names include red cat-bear, lesser panda and firefox in Nepal. In India and Nepal people keep them as pets. They weight around 12 - 20 pounds or 5 - 9 kg full grown.

These arboreal mammals or beings that spend the majority of their time in trees were once categorized as a part of the racoon family but now have their own classification call Ailuridae.

There are 2 sub species of the red panda, the western red panda and styan’s red panda but it’s hard to tell them apart. There are also 2 extinct species of red panda one being the giant red panda which a fossil was found in Tennessee which dates back 5 million years.

Technically a vegetarian carnivore the red panda while a descendant of carnivores is actually a herbivore with there diet. Not all carnivores are actually carnivores, dogs while classified as a carnivore are omnivores, being able to enjoy meat and plant food.

The red panda eats mostly bamboo and the odd insect, bird egg and fruit. Generally they are herbivores but this could make for an argument that they are in fact omnivores as well. Bamboo is nutritionally lacking requiring the red panda to spend up to 13 hours a day eating. That's around 20,000 bamboo leaves in a single day. During winter they can lose up to 15% of they total bodyweight.

Measuring about the size of a large cat, these furry mammals have big bushy tails used for balance and a convenient scarf when it’s cold. Their lifespan is 8 - 12 years in the wild or 15 years in captivity. Their voice can produce noises sounding like the chirp of a bird or a deep huff quick sound that'll make you think a full grown bear is nearby. They can also whistle and use body language to signal danger is near, to others of their kind.

The red panda has a handful of unique tools in their toolbox for survival like their ability increase and reduce their metabolic rate resulting in consuming less energy when they sleep. They have claws which they’ll swing while standing on their hind legs to defend themselves as well as for climbing. The red panda has an extended wrist bone much like giant pandas which they can rotate to help grasp trees allowing them to descend head first. With this said they aren't actually related to the giant panda but are a species of their own.

If their tall stance with claws ready doesn't intimidate the threat on hand, they can release a nasty waft from their stink gland which is strong enough to clear any room.

Classified as endangered in 2008, poaching by humans has run this poor species almost entirely off the map. Illegal trade and habitat destruction is the primary cause but they do have a few natural predators to watch out for. Clouded leopards, snow leopards, hawks, owls and wild dogs all prey on firefox but there are only around 2500 left in the wild.

This mammal keeps to themselves mostly unless it’s mating season. Female red pandas will give birth to 1 to 4 babies after a 4 - 5 month pregnancy. The mother will give birth to them a hole in a tree. The babies are born with their ears closed, blind and covered in grey fur. After 1 year the babies will go off on their own and the cycle starts all over.

Apparently red pandas love artificial sweeteners. In the 2009 journal of heredity, the study showed red pandas enjoy the taste of fake sugars like aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. I’m guessing this is probably the cause for most animals that eat fruit.

Sources:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/63578/12-furry-facts-about-red-pandas
http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/red_panda_facts/312/

Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNAPcbEYZX4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OvwFBL3CZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJFVd1VVXD0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnEFk868lmE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-t63ir5kJk

Red panda sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaMdE6-U56Y

Check out some of our other videos:

Top 10 Fruits You’ve Never Heard Of Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRdgPyZF45g&feature=youtu.be
Top 10 Fruits You’ve Never Heard Of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKTej1u-7-0&feature=youtu.be

Music: Blue Wednesday
https://soundcloud.com/bluewednesday

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Intro music thanks to Machinmasound:
Rallying the Defense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruPk4RD19Nw