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Have you ever wondered how red pandas came into existence? Well, you’re in luck. While doing my research on red pandas, I found out what the taxonomy of a red panda, I found where red pandas come from and how they have evolved throughout time, and I found some interesting facts about the red panda that made me choose the red panda for this project.
While doing my research on red pandas, I found out some interesting facts about them that play a factor on why I choose this animal. A well-known fact about the red panda is that they can eat around 20,000 bamboo leaves in a day. For an animal a little bit bigger than a cat, that is a lot of food they consume in one day. Another interesting fact about a red panda is they are tend to themselves. They would rather be left alone than being in a group of other red pandas. The only time they are in groups is when mating season takes place and when a mother red panda takes care of her cubs until the next mating season. Another interesting fact about the red panda, when the cubs are born, they are born blind, their ears are closed, and their fur is a gray color. One last fact is that these animals are an endangered species.
According to a world Atlas 'there are less than 10,000 red pandas in the world'. Red pandas are going existent by “deforestation, illegal trade of live animals, predation by domestic dogs, and killing for its pelt. They have gone extinct in two of the Chinese provinces which were deemed to be the hub of red pandas. My guess is that there will be no red pandas anymore in the future because of these issues.
Red pandas range from northern Myanmar to the west Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China. Most of the time, you can find a red panda in a tree sleeping where it spends most of its time. Red pandas enjoy being in trees especially during the day when they sleep. While red pandas sleep, they like to sunbathe, they like to be in the warm places, like the rainforest. At night they tend to get cold, so they use their fluff tail to keep them warm at night. The red panda needs bamboo to live. Without bamboo trees, they won’t be able to get the nutrition they need to survive. “They eat about 95% of bamboo leaves so they need those trees to survive. Without these trees, a red panda cannot escape their predators.
Some of the predators of a red panda include clouded leopards and snow leopards, and for the red panda cubs would be owls, hawks and other birds because of how tiny they are. Another huge predator to the red panda is humans. Humans hunt these animals for their fur and skin. However, the main cause of these animals to go extinct is humans destroying these rainforests and cutting down trees. When it comes time for mating season that usually happens January through March in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Southern Hemisphere breeding season extends June to August, the red pandas will gather in small groups to mate. This event is the only time they interact, as they are animals who do not form groups all year long. When the female red panda has her cubs, she stays with them for until the next mating season. Usually, a red panda will produce 1 to 4 red panda cubs, and sometimes will have twins.
During my research, I came upon another interesting fact about red pandas that ties into their evolution. Although many claims have been made about the red panda the taxonomy has been mixed up on different occasions. The first occasion happened in the late 19th century scientists discovered a parti-colored bear that ate like red pandas do and have a trick thumb like red pandas do as well. So, they classified these two animals together. By the 20th century, they started reversing it saying these parti-colored bears were related to bears and the red panda were almost cousins with the raccoon. By 1910 parti-colored bears were now called pandas instead and related to the raccoon. So, red pandas come from a distant line of raccoons and this parti-colored bear, but they are also their own thing.
The taxonomy of a red panda according to San Diego Zoo websites shows that red pandas belong in: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia – mammals Order: Carnivora – carnivores Family: Ailuridae Genus: Ailurus Species: Ailurus fulgens — Himalayan red panda Species: Ailurus styani — Chinese red panda.
The Red panda is extraordinary because scientists have had trouble in the past trying to figure out where this animal has come from. With scientists getting the taxonomy wrong and being uncertain of where red panda comes from. They have somewhat of a guess of close ancestors and are still questioning to this day where red pandas come from.
Red pandas are extraordinary animals. From just a few interesting facts about them, to how they live and survive, to where they come from with evolution and the taxonomy of this amazing creature. I never knew most stuff about this red panda and now I know more and want to continue to learn more about this animal. Also, I would like to keep a close eye out to see if the red pandas decrease from being endangered. I hope one day that there will be more red pandas than less than 10,000 in the world. One can dream.
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