Red pandas, arguably one of the cutest animals in the entire animal kingdom, are small, furry creatures with characteristic red-orange fur, round faces slightly resembling foxes, and long, fluffy tails which help them to retain balance. They are native to high-altitude areas like the Himalayas, and can be found in China and its surrounding countries. They usually munch on bamboo just like giant pandas, but this is where most of the similarities between the two species surprisingly end. (Not going to lie, this blog post topic is just an excuse for me to look at a bunch of pictures of red pandas and giant pandas as well as include them in this post, so enjoy!)
Picture from pbs.org
Many people believe, like their namesake suggests, that red pandas, Ailurus fulgens, and giant pandas, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, are closely related species. This included me until I began writing this blog post, when I decided to investigate the differences between these two, because they obviously differ visually. Excluding being extremely cute, these two animals have almost nothing in common, differing in almost everything from size and behavior all the way to DNA similarities.
Are red pandas and giant pandas even closely related?
Shockingly and unfortunately, no. Red Pandas are members of the Ailuridae family, and they are actually the only known living members of this family. They were previously believed to be a part of the Procyonidae family, which is where raccoons, skunks, and other similar animals are classified, until morphological data and DNA similarities made scientists classify them in the Ursidae family, or bear family, which is where panda bears are grouped as well. This is where red pandas continued to be classified until recently when scientists put them into their own classification group. This debate over which taxonomic group red pandas belong in had been going since red pandas were discovered in 1825! Interestingly, red pandas were actually discovered before giant pandas (which were discovered in 1869), so which species is truly the "real panda"? As of now, scientists consider red pandas to be most closely related to raccoons and weasels.
Picture from @eenork on twitter
"Lesser Panda" is a nickname for red pandas. Personally, I believe they are the best variation of panda.
This image depicts the phylogenetic tree of members of the Ursidae and Procyodae families and their most recent common ancestor(s).
In some cases, yes. Both giant pandas and red pandas are solitary animals, only interacting with members of their species during mating season or in captivity. In some cases, giant pandas in the wild are separated from one another by miles of land and nature, further emphasizing their willingness to be alone. Another reason for this separation is food. Since bamboo, which is known to not be very nutritious, is the main food in the diet of both giant pandas and red pandas, both species need a lot of bamboo to be able to fulfill their nutrient requirement per day. Even though bamboo is known to grow fast, if two pandas (giant or red) occupy the same area, there will almost always be a fight over who gets to enjoy the green delicacy.
Picture from National Geographic Kids
Doesn't it look like he's playing the flute?
One main difference between the two species in terms of behavior lies in where they prefer to inhabit and at what time. Red pandas, as previously stated, like more high altitude areas and cooler temperatures. Most red pandas can be found in the mountainous regions of Nepal, China, and India as well as other countries in the surrounding area, and are nocturnal animals, preferring to roam around during the night instead of the day.
Picture from wwf.org
Red Panda in the snow!!
In contrast, pandas definitely prefer to reside in warmer weather, preferably in temperatures between 64-69 degrees Fahrenheit, and are found in mostly southern China where they are heavily respected by Chinese residents. If it is absolutely necessary, pandas can live in colder regions because of their thick fur, but they would rather not. Yet again differing from red pandas, giant pandas are not nocturnal animals. Despite the fact that they sleep for a whopping 20 hours each day, they are not considered nocturnal and do most of their daily activities during the daytime (what little time they have at least!).
Picture from Reader's Digest
Long day?
Endangered Status
One thing that these two creatures sadly do share is the fact that they are both endangered species. The WWF believes that the amount of red pandas left in the world is around 10,000, while some experts say this number could be even lower. Similarly, the amount of giant pandas left in the world is estimated to be around 2,060. As previously stated, red pandas prefer colder temperatures to warmer, which means that as global temperatures continue to rise, red pandas will need to move to higher and higher elevations to find habitats within their optimal temperature range. Soon enough, these red pandas will be unable to continue rising in elevation, and will run out of land available to inhabit. The amount of inhabitable land has also decreased in recent years for a multitude of reasons, including demand for firewood and grazing livestock that take up more land. In addition, both red pandas and giant pandas are being depleted of their main food source, bamboo. This also fits in the same category as habitat degradation, where huge portions of growing bamboo is rid of to make room for other animals, like livestock. Livestock also competes with both giant and red pandas for bamboo leaves, again limiting the amount of bamboo available to the pandas. To try and increase panda population, the WWF and the Chinese Government have attempted to replant and repopulate bamboo forests in order to ensure that each panda will have enough to eat, and to find more potential breeding mates to even more effectively repopulate. You should be happy to know that these efforts have actually been helping the panda population! Woohoo! If you are interested in reading more about red pandas and their endangered status, click here (worldwildlife.org).
Video from Smithsonian on Youtube
Zookeepers in China attempting to help the endangered population of Giant Pandas by minimizing their contact with humans!
Whether you, like me, believed that giant pandas and red pandas were closely genetically related to each other, or if you somehow knew that they, unfortunately, are not, both species are still incredibly interesting in their own way. Regardless of the many differences they may have, at least both species are some of the cutest in the world today. I can live with that!
Some TikToks for fun!
Red Pandas standing up for treats.
Video from user @1_redpanda on TikTok
Giant Panda eating bamboo.
Video from user @giantpanda0711 on TikTok
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