Blank Park Zoo
Blank Park Zoo

Open Daily, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
$18 adults, $12 children
 

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Open Daily, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
$18 adults, $12 children
 

View All Rates ›
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Red Panda

Scientific Name:

Ailurus fulgens

Feeding Type:           

Omnivores   

Range & Habitat:

In the wild they live in conifer and deciduous forests of the Himalayas and other mountain ranges of Southwest China. 

Diet in the Wild:  

Bamboo, Berries, Grass             

Conservation:

Endangered, a Species Survival Plan Animal

Description:

Unlike the Giant Pandas, they are not a bear. Instead, they are their own independent family called Alivridae. Many think they are related to the raccoon or family of Procyonidae, but this is based on superficial similarities and is incorrect. There are less than 2500 mature adults in existence today. They have already become extinct in 4 of the 7 Chinese provinces. The major threats to red pandas are loss and fragmentation of habitat due to deforestation (and the resulting loss of bamboo) for timber, fuel and agricultural land; poaching for the pet and fur trades; and competition from domestic livestock.
 
The red panda eats mostly bamboo. Like the Giant Panda, it cannot digest cellulose, so it must consume a large volume of bamboo to survive. Its diet consists of about two-thirds bamboo, but they also eat berries, fruit, mushrooms, roots, acorns, lichen, grasses, and they are known to supplement their diet with young birds, fish, eggs, small rodents, and insects on occasion. In captivity they will readily eat meat. Red pandas are excellent climbers and forage largely in trees.
 
Red pandas typically give birth to two cubs. Gestation for red pandas is just over four months, roughly 134 days.
 

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