Red Pandas - Pictures

Red Pandas

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Red Pandas - Diet

Red Pandas are naturally omnivores, but they have adapted to eating mainly vegetation, such as berries, blossoms, acorns, roots and fruits. Bamboo leaves and stalks are the main food for Red Pandas, just like it is for their close relative, the Giant Panda. Both species grasp the food with their forepaws that have six digits and bring it to the mouth while they are sitting or lying on their back. The broad teeth and strong cheek muscles are especially adapted to chewing bamboo.

If vegetation is scarce, Red Pandas can eat bird eggs, insects, mice and even carrion. Like their relatives, Giant Pandas, Red Pandas are not very efficient feeders and need to eat daily up to 30% of their body weight. These animals can spend 12-13 hours a day searching for food and eating.

Red Pandas - Reproduction

During the breeding season male and female Red Pandas leave many scent-markings inviting each other. Red Pandas mate in early winter and the young are born in the spring and summer. There can be from 1 to 4 babies in the litter. Females make a nest in a hollow tree or in a rock crevice. In captivity, boxes and hollow logs may serve as den sites.

Usually birth takes place from 4 PM to 9 AM. The mother remains with her babies for major part of the time, which is during the babies' first days. The young are dependent of their mother for 90-100 days. Males have a nonexistent role in caring for the young. At the beginning of the next breeding season, the young Red Pandas become aggressive and leave their mother.

Red Pandas reach sexual maturity at about 18 months of age. The mortality rate among cubs is up to 85% and among adults it reaches 45%. The average lifespan of Red Pandas is 8-10 years

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