The red panda (scientific name: ailurus fulgens) resembles a cat, but is fatter than a cat and has a reddish-brown body.
Round face, shorter snout, white markings on the cheeks. The ears are large and upright forward. The limbs are stubby and dark brown. The tail is long , thicker and fluffier , with 12 reddish and dark rings ; the tip of the tail is dark brown. Trekking; both front and rear feet have 5 toes; asexual type II.
The skull is high and rounded; the auditory vesicles are relatively flattened; the posterior orbital process is incompletely developed or absent; the sagittal crest is low; the winged disc bone is winged; the upper palate is highly arched with a hollow in the middle; the midwing bone is constricted; and the crown process is distinctly hooked.
It mainly lives at an altitude of 3000 meters below sea level in mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests or evergreen broad-leaved forests with bamboo bushes.
The annual temperature in these areas is generally below 25 °C in summer and between 0 and 10 °C in winter.
The activity area is large, in the summer, the red panda is mostly active in the valley with streams on the yin slope, and in the winter, it is in the Yangpo River Valley basin, and even down to the grass slopes and shrubs near the village after snowfall.
In particular, he likes to bask in the sun on the cliffs or large trees facing the sun, so the local people in Sichuan are accustomed to calling it "mountain gate squatting".
On weekdays, it inhabits large tree caves or stone caves and rock crevices. Come out in the morning and evening to forage for food, and sleep in caves or in the shade of large trees during the day.
When sleeping, curl your head in your limbs, hold your head on your forelimbs, and cover your body with your tail. Sometimes the feet lie high on the branches.
Good at climbing, often able to climb to high and thin branches to rest or avoid predators.
Because of the thick fuzz on the soles of its feet, it is also suitable for walking on wet mossy fields or rocks in the woods. When walking, the forefoot is curved inward and the gait is staggered, similar to that of a bear. Usually slow in action, temperament is more gentle, rarely make a sound.
It prefers bamboo shoots, young shoots and bamboo leaves, all kinds of wild fruits, leaves, mosses, and preys on small birds or eggs and other small animals, insects, etc., especially likes to eat sweet foods.
In the places where they are active, there are many grass-green feces, and like raccoons, they love to clean and defecate in fixed places.
After eating, you can rub your face with your palm or use your tongue to wash the edges of your mouth.
It is more common in the eastern part of the region of origin, especially along the border between Yunnan and Myanmar, but is not a common species.
Native species distribution: Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal.
In China, it is mainly distributed in Tibet (the southern slope of the Himalayas), Yunnan, Sichuan and other provinces.