Habitat

Red pandas are currently endangered, and their distribution is not very well known in the wild. They can be found in the temperate forests of the Himalayas within the countries of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, and China. The subspecies, Ailurus fulgens styani, is usually found in south-central China, while the other subspecies, Ailurus fulgens fulgens, is more likely to be found in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, and south-west China.

Within the Himalayas, red pandas roam bamboo forests, which are dominated by grasses, shrubs, and herbs. When the red panda is not roaming the forest, it is usually sleeping. Red pandas spend the majority of their time sleeping in the forks of trees or beneath fallen trees. They also favor areas in which the sun is present, because the sun's warmth helps them conserve energy.

Picture by: Kayla Kuczmarski

Above: This is a picture of the red panda, "Tae-Bo," which I took while visiting the New Zoo in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Like a typical panda, "Tae-Bo" is busy resting.

The red panda's range overlaps greatly with the giant panda. Despite this overlap, there is not a lot of competition between the two species. For instance, while both species forage on bamboo, red pandas tend to eat the lower portion of the plant while giant pandas tend to eat the upper portion of the plant. Similarly, red pandas, being agile creatures, are able to cope with steeper slopes, and thus can typically be found at higher altitudes than giant pandas.