Red Panda @ Ocean Park, Hongkong: Now Endangered

Red Panda resting so very cuddly

As planet earth evolves, this "red panda or the so called lesser panda (Ailurus Fulgens)" is becoming extinct. This red bear-cat and the red cat-bear is a mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. Their habitat has been increasingly threatened.  Poor panda.  Ocean Park, has made this initiative to take care of them to help them breed and live.  Thru the park, visitors all over the world are taught about their protection and the value of all flora and fauna in their fragile ecosystem.

The male red panda weighs 3.7 - 6.2 kg while the female weighs 3 - 6 kg. It has a reddish-brown fur, a long shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs; it is roughly the size of a domestic cat, though with a longer body and somewhat heavier.

It is arboreal, feeds mainly on bamboos but also eats eggs, birds, high fiber biscuits, vegetables and insects.  It is a solitary animal mainly active from dusk to dawn and is sedentary during the day.

The red panda is the only living species of the genus Ailurus and the family Ailuridae.  It has been previously placed in the racoon and bear families, but the results of phylogenetic analysis provide strong support for its taxonomic classification in its own family, Ailuridae, which part of the superfamily "Musteloidea" alongside with the weasel, racoon and skunk families.  Two subspecies are recognized.  It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a basal ursid.

"I did not insist on taking more of this red panda's picture because I realized that same with people, they need privacy. This one looked so tired or just asking for "my space" please.