The Red Panda

The Red Panda, Ailurus fulgens ("shining cat," from a Latinized form of the Greek αιλουρος, ailouros, "cat," and the participial form of the Latin fulgere, "to shine") is a mostly herbivorous mammal, slightly larger than a domestic cat (55 cm long). The Red Panda has semi-retractile claws and, like the Giant Panda, has a "false thumb" which is really an extension of the wrist bone. Thick fur on the soles of the feet offers protection from cold and hides scent glands. Red Pandas are a little bigger than domesticated cats and their cubs are a little bigger than domesticated kittens. The Red Panda is native to the Himalayas in India and Nepal and southern China.

This taxonomic classification of both the Red Panda and Giant Panda has been under debate for many decades, as both species share characteristics of both bears and raccoon. However, they are only very distantly related by remote common ancestry from the Early Tertiary Period. Its ancestor can be traced back to tens of millions of years ago with a wide distribution across Eurasia. Fossils of the Red Panda have been unearthed from China in the east to Britain in the west (Hu, 1990), and most recently a handful of fossils (Pristinailurus bristoli, Miocene,considered to be a new genus and species of the Red Panda) have also been discovered in North America.

There are two extant subspecies of Red Panda: the Western Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) that lives in the western part of its range, and the somewhat larger Styans Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens styani) that lives in the east-northeastern part of its range. The Western Red Panda has lighter pelage, especially in the face, while the Styans Red Panda has more dramatic facial markings. The effective population size in the Sichuan population is larger and more stable than that in the Yunnan population, implying a southward expansion from Sichuan to Yunnan.

The Red Panda is classified as an endangered species. There is an estimated population of less than 2,500 mature individuals and this number continues to decline due to severely fragmented populations.