The Red Panda or Lesser Panda, Ailurus fulgens ("shining cat"), is a mostly herbivorous mammal, specialized as a bamboo feeder. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat (40 - 60 cm long, 3 - 6 kg weight). The Red Panda is endemic to the Himalayas in Bhutan, southern China, India, Laos, Nepal, and Myanmar. Red Panda is the state animal in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the mascot of the Darjeeling international festivals. There is an estimated population of less than 2,500 mature individuals. Their population continues to decline due to habitat fragmentation.[1]
Red Pandas are native to southeastern Asia, along a crescent formed by the Himalaya Mountain foothills from western Nepal, southern Tibet, Bhutan, and Northeast India, then east into the highlands of Myanmar (Burma), the Gongshan Mountains of Yunnan province in China, and the Hengduan Mountains of Sichuan province in China. The latter area is thought to have been a refuge for Red Pandas, as well as many other animals, during the last (Pleistocene) period of glaciation. The gorge of the Brahmaputra River, as it loops around the eastern end of the Himalayas, is considered a natural division between the two subspecies, although some suggest the A. f. fulgens range extends more eastwardly into Yunnan China. Red pandas used to have a broader distribution farther northeast into China and farther southwest into India.
Red Pandas inhabit climates of moderate temperature (10-25 °C) with little annual fluctuation and prefer forested mountainous areas at elevations of 1,800-4,800 m, particularly temperate deciduous-coniferous forests with an understory of rhododendron and, of course, bamboo. They share habitat with another bamboo specialist, the Giant Panda, in China (Wolong Preserve). Red Pandas are cavity nesters, using rock dens and old hollow trees. They often spend the day drooped over a branch high in the trees, feeding more actively at dawn and dusk. There are also several captive red panda populations living in zoos around the world. The North American captive population is maintained under the Species Survival Plan (SSP), and contained 182 animals as of October 2001.
Red Pandas are classified as endangered. No reliable numbers exist for the total population but it is very threatened due to the fragmentation of its natural habitats, their small numbers, and their food specialization needs. In southwest China the Red Panda is hunted for its fur and especially for its highly-valued bushy tail from which hats are produced. In the areas of China, where the Red Panda lives, their fur is often used for local cultural ceremonies and in weddings the bridegroom traditionally carries the hide. The 'good-luck charm' hats are used by Chinese newlyweds.
This, and the continuous clearing of the forests has significantly reduced the population. It is now protected in all countries in which it lives, and the hunting of Red Pandas is illegal everywhere. Nevertheless, poaching continues and they are often illegally hunted and sold to zoos for dumping prices. The IUCN has mandated that small Pandas are a “threatened species“ since 1996, however it is now listed as endangered. It is very difficult to estimate the total population, yet one can assume that they cannot bear much more of a habitat change and that they are in danger of extinction due to the disappearance of the forests and the furtive hunting for its highly-valued tail and fur.
The SREL DNA Lab at the University of Georgia has listed several key major threat indications. A 40% decrease in Red Panda populations reported in China over the last 50 years, and those in western/Himalayan areas are considered to be in worse shape. Red Pandas have a naturally low birth rate (usually single or twin births per year) and a high death rate in the wild.
Natural population subdivision by topography and ecology has been worsened by human encroachment, leading to severe fragmentation of the remaining wild population. For example, 40 animals in 4 groups share resources of a preserve in Nepal with 30,000 humans (only 6% of its 1710 km² is preferred red panda habitat). Small groups of animals, with little opportunity for exchange between them, face the risk of inbreeding, decreased genetic diversity, and even extinction. The Red Panda is endangered due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, grazing, and farming. For example government-encouraged cheese production for tourists in Nepal contributed to fuel wood consumption for the factory, overgrazing by chauri (cattle-yak hybrid) impacting bamboo growth, and intrusion by herders and dogs (often attacking cubs). Agricultural terracing is having a detrimental effect on former Red Panda habitat in Nepal. The Red Panda is also poached for good-luck charm' hats for Chinese newlyweds, other fur clothing, and for the illegal pet trade.
