Red Pandas

Amazingly, this adult Red Panda and baby (the whiter-faced one on the left) were still for a moment this afternoon. They have a spectacular, long, very bushy, striped tail.

"The red panda (which is much smaller than the giant panda) resembles a raccoon in size and appearance. The red panda is found in a mountainous band from Nepal through northeastern India and Bhutan and into China, Laos and northern Myanmar. It is rare and continues to decline. It has already become extinct in 4 of the 7 Chinese provinces in which it was previously found. 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." From www.animalinfo.org.