Will the Red Panda face extinction in the near future?

Red pandas are mammal’s native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. These strange specimens look similar to raccoons but are slightly larger than a domestic cat and can easily be distinguished by its unique thick orange russet fur pelt. The colour and patterns play a huge role in the Red Panda’s camouflage. The abdomen and limbs are black, with white located on the ears snout and face. The Red Panda can typically Weigh between 3kg and 9kg (or 6.6 – 20 Lbs), with a Body length on average from 50cm to 64cm (20 to 25 Inch) and a Tail length of 37cm to 50cm (15 to 20 Inch). Sadly, these tiny creatures are on the Endangered List.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia …show more content…
In the Southern Hemisphere, breeding period is between June and August. The rapid change in photoperiod (the day length) after the winter initiates this breeding period. Mating takes place on the ground, and gestation (the process or period of developing inside the womb between conception and birth.) appears to include a period of delayed implantation which may be as short as 90 days or as long as 158 days. As reproduction exhausts an immense amount of energy, it is thought that the long gestation period may be due to a slow metabolic rate of red pandas. When it comes to nesting, the females fashion a nest in tree holes, branch forks, tree roots or bamboo thickets and line it with moss, leaves and other soft plant material. A litter of typically two cubs is born, the cubs stay with the mother for around 12 months, which is when they typically reach adulthood. Young cubs will reach sexual maturity at round 18 months. The average lifespan for a Red panda is 12 years in the wild and 14 years in captivity. As a result of these characteristics, red pandas have a slow rate of reproduction and have an immense deal of difficulty recovering from a population …show more content…
Red pandas patrol their territories, marking with urine and a weak musk-smelling secretion from their anal glands. The species is commonly quiet excluding for some whistling communication sounds. It has been documented that the red panda is both nocturnal and crepuscular.
Some predators of the red panda include the snow leopard, mustelids, and humans. If they feel threatened, their first instinct is to escape the danger by climbing. If they become cornered, as a final stand they raise up on their hind legs to make themselves appear larger and use their sharp claws to assault the attacker.

Red Pandas are very sensitive to temperature, with an ideal temperature range of 17 to 25 °C, red pandas cannot tolerate anything above 25 °C. The red panda has been spotted to be sleeping on tree branches or in tree hollows during the day and only increasing its activity in the late afternoon and early evening hours. They tend to sleep stretched out on a branch dangling high above in the heat, and curled up with its tail in the colder periods.

There is believed to be less than 10,000 Red Pandas remaining alive, there is a decline in mature red pandas, including a decrease in