Latin name: Ailurus fulgens

The Other One's Smaller Cousin!

• Sharing the same name as the famous giant panda, the red panda, with its ringed tail and characteristic facial mask, more closely resembles a raccoon.

• Its digestive system is able to digest 25% of the vegetation that it eats. It will however prefer bamboo as it is plentiful in its environment and rarely sought after by other animal species.

• This animal often sleeps and rests perched in a tree. It will seek a south facing location to take advantage of the sun's warmth.

• The red panda is recognized as the state animal of the Indian province of Sikkim and the mascot of India's Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival.

• Threatened, it takes advantage of the protective methods established for the giant panda as it dwells in the same kind of protected forests. Its current population is estimated at less than 10,000 individuals.