Red Panda: Endangered cuteness in the Himalayas

As you all know, tens of thousands of species worldwide are at risk of extinction. The red panda, a red fluffy animal from China, is also one of the endangered species. Although the cuteness of the red panda drives people crazy in the social media world, it faces various factors in the real world, including man-made threats affecting its habitat, lessening the forest area which increases the risk of extinction.

Today, ACU PAY will bring everyone to know and understand the situation with this red panda.

There is nothing related to a panda although it is called a Red Panda

A Red Panda is a mammal that resembles a raccoon mixed with a bear. It has thick red-brown fur and a long tail. Although it looks like a bear, it does not have any relationship with panda or bear. Red pandas are related to Weasel, Raccoon, and Skunk. Red pandas belong to the Ailuridae family, which is their own special family. It is considered the last remaining species in this family.

The birthplace of the red panda is in the Himalayas, covering areas from China, India, Tibet, Nepal, and northern Myanmar. The ability to adapt to the cold weather of the high mountains allows the red panda to survive well.

Way of Life and Behavior

Red Pandas have a simple lifestyle and focus on eating and sleeping. They spend around 10-17 hours a day sleeping and find food at dusk. It takes hours to find bamboo, leaves, pine, and insects as main food.

The interesting behavior of red pandas is to stand on both hind legs to look for food or protect themselves from enemies. Although they behave aggressively when threatened, red pandas are generally non-violent and have shy, reclusive behavior. When dealing with other red pandas, they will arch their tails and use the “huff-quack” sound to communicate.

The importance of a red panda in the ecosystem

In addition to its cuteness, red pandas play an important role in the ecosystem they live in. They are classified as “Umbrella specials” which means that conserving the habitat of red pandas helps preserve other organisms living in the same area as well.

Red Pandas help control populations of plants and animals that are their food, maintaining a balanced ecosystem in the forest, especially in the Himalayas, where many rare species live.

The risk of extinction

Although red pandas are well-known for social media and cartoons they are facing a serious risk of extinction. Red Pandas are listed as Endangered species on the IUCN Red List. By estimating the number of red pandas remaining in the wild, only 10,000-2,500 remain.

The main threats to the red panda are several factors, including trafficking, forest poaching, road construction, logging, climate change, and global warming, which directly affect their survival.

The need for conservation

Conservation of red pandas is very important to prevent their extinction. Conservation not only preserves the species but also keeps the balance of the ecosystems in which they live.

Recognizing the problem and supporting the conservation of the red panda’s habitat is important because maintaining their natural environment will give them a chance to survive and restore their population.

So far, our world has shown no good sign of forest and nature. Although there are several discoveries, new extinctions also occur. The fate of the red panda itself is not good unless we save the forest directly and indirectly, which is the home of the animals. If we, as humans, do not help to conserve woods which are home to animals, the future of this little fella seems to be hopeless.

**On the third Saturday of every September, the Red Panda Network was established as International Red Panda Day to raise awareness and preserve red pandas in 2010.

References from
redpandanetwork / brandthink / iucnredlist / wildwelfare / altv