The document describes the red panda, including its systematic position as Ailurus fulgens in the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, and class Mammalia. Red pandas have reddish-brown fur and live in mountain forests in eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, preferring areas with bamboo. They are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation as well as poaching. Conservation efforts aim to protect red panda habitat and populations through reserves, protected areas, and captive breeding programs.

2. Systematic Position
Kingdom- Animalia
Phylum- Chordata
Sub phylum- Vertebrata
Class- Mammalia
Order- Carnivora
Family- Ailuridae
Genus- Ailurus
Species- fulgens
Specimen- Ailurus fulgens

3. Physical Characteristics
 It has reddish- brown fur
on the upper part and the
lower part contains
blackish fur. It is roughly
the size of a domestic cat,
though with a longer body.
 A long tail with six
transverse rings present.
 Reddish-brown "tear"
marks under the eyes
present.
 The average length of red
panda is 2 feet .
Fig: Physical characteristics of red
panda

4. Distribution
 It was once widely distributed across Eurasia & now mainly
found in the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China .
 The Himalayan red panda lives in Nepal, Bhutan, northern
India, northern Myanmar, and Tibet and western Yunnan
Province of China.
 The Chinese red panda inhabits Yunnan and Sichuan provinces
of China, southeastern Tibet and northern Myanmar.
 Yalu Zangbu River acts as geographic barrier for species
distribution. (Hu, Thapa, Fan et al. 2020).

5.  In India, red panda is found in Sikkim, West Bengal (Darjeeling
district), and Arunachal Pradesh. Recent studies suggest that both
species live in India (Dalui, Singh, Joshi et al. 2021).
Fig: Distribution of red panda

6. Habitat
 Red panda is an arboreal
animal. It spends most of
its life on tree.
 It lives in high-altitude
between 2,200 and 4,800
m.
 It prefers mountainous
mixed deciduous and
conifer forests, especially
with old trees and dense
understories of bamboo. Fig: A red panda is sleeping on a tree

7. Feeding Habit
 When foraging, they are
most active at night.
 Bamboo is the main
food of red panda. They
eat many other foods as
well—fruit, acorns,
roots, and sometimes
eggs, insects or small
animals.
 Like giant pandas, they
have an extended wrist
bone that function
almost like a thumb and
greatly aids their grip.
Fig: A red panda feeds on bamboo
leaves

8. Communication
 Red pandas often communicate when they feel provoked or
threatened.
 They use body languages- such as head bobbing, tail arching
and standing on their hind legs and a variety of loud noises
including the “huff-quack” and a warning whistle.

9. Reproduction
 At around 18 months
of age red pandas are
able to reproduce.
 Males and females are
both mate more than
one partner during
mating season.
 Mating season is mid-
January to early March.
 Average gestation
period is 112 to 158
days. 1 to 4 offspring
are born. Fig: A new born cub at Padmaja Naidu
Himalayan Zoological Park

10. Threats
 As per IUCN Red list, red panda is an endangered animal since
2008. It is facing a high risk of extinction. It is estimated that less
than 10,000 individuals live in the world.
 Habitat loss, deforestation, habitat fragmentation, climate change
are main factors in red panda’s population decline.
 Poaching and illegal animal trading also play an important role in
case of population decline.
 In china it is estimated that red panda’s population has declined
almost 40 percent in the last 50 years. (Wei, Feng, Wang et al.
1999).

11. Conservation
 There are several steps taken to conserve red panda.
 China has established 31 national reserves or parks within red
panda’s habitat. It represents about 42.5 percent of the red panda’s
habitat in china (Glatston, Wei, Than et al. 2015).
 In India red panda is under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection)
Act, 1972.
 There are several protected areas and parks for red panda in Nepal,
Bhutan and Myanmar.
 Nowadays in situ conservation strategy is followed to save red
panda. In many countries red pandas are kept in zoos.

12.  Captive breeding is occurred in India, Japan, Australia and
China.
 Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is a prominent
center for red panda captive breeding in India.

13. Conclusion
 There are several organizations
which work on red pandas to
save them.
 Since 2005 WWF-India has been
working in eastern Himalaya
region.
 Red Panda Network is a
prominent organization in Nepal
which focuses on red panda
conservation. In 2010 they
launched International Red
Panda Day (IRPD). It is
celebrated on the third Saturday
of September every year.
Fig: An awareness poster at
Jaubari, Nepal

14. References
Dalui, S., Singh, K. S., Joshi, D. B., Ghosh, A., Basu, S., Khatri,
H., Sharma, K. L., Chandra, K., & Thakur, M. (2021). Geological
and Pleistocene glaciations explain the demography and disjunct
distribu-tion of red panda (A. fulgens) in eastern Himalayas.
Scientific Reports, 11, 65 (2021).
Hu, Y., Thapa, A., Fan, H., Ma, T., Wu, Q., Ma, S., Zhang, D.,
Wang, B., Li, M., Yan, L., & Wei, F. (2020). Genomic evidence for
two phylogenetic species and long-term population bottlenecks in
red pandas. Science Advances, 6(9).
Roberts, M. S., Gittleman, J. L. (1984). Ailurus fulgens.
Mammalian Species (222), 1–8.
http://www.pnhzp.gov.in/urls/conservation_red_panda.html

15. Thank you