Red pandas can be identified by their unique ruddy coat color, which acts like camouflage within
the canopy of fir trees where branches are covered with clumps of reddish-brown moss and white
lichens. They have large, round heads and short snouts with big, pointed ears. Their faces are white
with reddish-brown “tear” marks that extend from the eyes to the corner of the mouth. These markings
help keep the sun out of their eyes. Their tails are marked with alternating red and buff rings, and
they have a soft, dense woolly undercoat covered by long, coarse guard hairs. Long, bushy tails
help these arboreal animals maintain balance and protect them from harsh cold and winds. Dense
fur completely covers their feet which have five, widely separated toes and semi-retractable claws.
The red panda tests odors using the underside of its tongue, which has a cone-like structure for
collecting liquid and bringing it close to a gland inside its mouth, being the only carnivore with this
adaptation. They are skilled climbers, and their ankles are extremely flexible, making it possible for
them to adeptly climb headfirst down tree trunks. In contrast with other carnivores their size, red
pandas have extremely robust dentition. They have a simple carnivore stomach, and share the
giant panda’s pseudo-thumb, a modified wrist bone used to grasp bamboo when feeding.
Red pandas live in high-altitude, temperate forests with bamboo understories in the
Himalayas and other high mountains. They range from northern Myanmar to the west
Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. They are also found in suitable habitat in
Nepal, India and Tibet.
Bamboo constitutes about 95% of the red panda's diet. Unlike giant pandas that feed on
nearly every above-ground portion of bamboo, red pandas feed selectively on the most
nutritious leaf tips and, when available, tender shoots. Like giant pandas, red pandas
grasp plant stems using their forepaws and shear selected leaves off with their mouths.
Because red pandas are obligate bamboo eaters, they are on a tight energy budget for
much of the year. They may also forage for roots, succulent grasses, fruits, insects and
grubs, and are known to occasionally kill and eat birds and small mammals.
In human care, red pandas can be active at any time of day but are primarily
crepuscular, or most active at dawn and dusk. On average, they spend about 45
percent of the day awake and tend to be more active in cooler weather, especially
during the winter mating season. In significantly cold temperatures, red pandas can
become dormant, lowering their metabolic rate and raising it every few hours as they
wake up to look for food.
This adaptation allows red pandas to spend nearly as little energy as sloths, which
is very beneficial considering the low nutrition content of their diet. They also exhibit
temperature-regulating behaviors, such as curling into a tight ball to conserve body
heat and energy expenditure in the cold. Conversely, when temperatures are warm,
red pandas stretch out on branches and pant to lower their body temperature.