I don't know why or how, but at some point I deemed the red panda as my favorite animal. It looked like a red raccoon, and I always loved raccoons despite how dirty they are. Red pandas have very distant relations to the giant panda and were named the first-panda. They are the only living member left of the Ailuridae with less than 10,000 living in the wild. So these cute, fluffy and adorable animals have a lot to love about them, some characteristics making them seem like teenagers, and here's just to name a few:
1. They spend about half of the day eating.
They have to spend 13 hours day eating and looking for food, or they can lose up to 15 percent of their body weight in the winter. Their distantly related to today's Giant Panda eat all of the bamboo plant, while red pandas only eat the small leaves. However, I would love to be able to spend 13 hours a day eating in order to not lose any weight.
2. They know how to get lose.
Literally, these animals know how to escape and officials from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums put in their manual that "red pandas are escape artists". Many incidences, primarily in Europe, feature red pandas getting lose and getting hurt. The Smithsonian National Zoo lost their red panda Rusty when he climbed out of his enclosure by a low-limb from a tree. They are now known to be very tricky, contrary to this very popular gif where the cub is a bit spooked to say the least.
3. Firefox is named after the species.
Firefox, which means red panda, was created by Mozilla. In 2010 Mozilla adopted two baby red panda's from the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee. Here is a video on the two adorable cubs.
4. They make a tweeting sound that makes them even cuter.
You probably had no idea what sound they would make. Would they growl? Bark? Hiss? It's more of a whistle, tweet. But you need to listen to their unique sound.
5. They
like to be alone.
Red pandas aren't ones for hanging in pairs and packs. Often, only one can be found in a mile radius, at the most. Typically, the zoos keep very few in captivity for this reason and if there are more, they normally keep them in larger enclosures.
6. They like to pounce
On everything, they'll jump and attack it. They have been very renowned to do so, since so many images and gifs are out on the internet. When they stand on their hind legs, though, it is one of their defense mechanisms.
7. They can be vicious.
Yes, they are adorable, but they are known to attack when needed. If they are woken while sleeping, they will attack whatever is near them. If a pack is around, they are able to kill an elk calf easier than most would assume. While only being a bit larger than the averge house cat, these animals go into fits and can give off an awful scent when needed, a defense tactic they use against larger animals they want them as prey. So yes, all cute and cuddly to look at, but not to touch.
Similar to some teenagers, they eat all day, tweet, enjoy being alone, go into fits and want to escape. Enjoy them from afar and their many adorable images that crowd the internet. You wouldn't want to be around them when they're angry, so just go to the zoo and see how cute these animals can be from a good distance.
For a final time, thank you for reading.
