These cute red pandas look very adorable. Some might think they look like excellent pets because of their fluffiness and silliness. But this is not the case. Disocver why it is illegal- and why it is not a good idea to have a red panda as a pet.
Facts About The Red Panda
| Common name: | Red panda, lesser panda, Ailurus fulgens |
| Length: | 22-24 inches |
| Weight: | 9 to 18 pounds |
| Average Lifespan: | 8 to 10 years |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ailuridae |
The red panda’s natural habitat is in high altitudes. You will find them in temperate forests of the eastern Himalayas in countries like China, Nepal, and India.
This species is usually the size of a cat. If you don’t count the tail, its total length is about 24 inches long. They weigh around 9 to 18 pounds.
The color of their fur is chestnut red, except for their bellies and legs, which are black. Their tails have white and red stripes. The spots around their ears, cheeks, nose, and eyes are almost always white.
Despite its name and appearance, it can be a bit confusing to understand what species it is, but the red panda is more closely related to a bear and raccoon than the giant panda.
In later years, DNA analysis shows that they are most likely not related to any of them but rather to a family called Ailuridae. Sadly, most of its closest relatives are extinct.
Red Pandas Diet
Red pandas love bamboo. Bamboo is an essential part of their diet, consisting of 95% bamboo. Although they are mainly herbivores, they can also be carnivorous animals, but they prefer a vegetarian diet.
They mostly eat fruit, roots, shoots, lichens, and bamboo leaves. But they can catch insects, worms, and even small vertebrates.
The Reason Why Red Pandas Are Bad Pets
Although red pandas seem sweet and harmless when playing in the snow, they can be vicious killers – even tho they prefer to eat bamboo all day. Red pandas are shy and nocturnal animals. They are also solitary, except during the mating season.
They urinate to mark their territory, and sometimes, they leave a bad smell, just like skunks. This foul-smelling secretion is dispersed along with feces or urine and is used to abduct potential predators or hide its scent.
If you try to keep it a pet indoors, it will most likely mark its territory all over the house because of its wild instincts.
Thanks to its very aggressive and sharp claws, it is an animal that can make you feel the effects of this aggression deeply.
The Red Panda is Endangered
According to experts, less than 10,000 red pandas are left in the wild. They are currently in conservation programs at zoos around the world. This is due mainly to the destruction of their habitat, and poaching has made them critically endangered.
Many cute videos have spread across the internet showing red pandas kept in unnatural conditions and inside people’s homes. Unfortunately, these videos lead to uneducated people wanting the same pet, making the red panda a target for poaching.
The red panda is illegally hunted extensively, especially in the southwestern region of China. According to WWF, killing, buying, or selling red pandas may cost you up to $1,000 in fines and up to 10 years in jail.
Conclusion
Although these cute red pandas might look like fantastic pets, sadly, that is not the case. They are wild animals and have not been domesticated for thousands of years like our cats and dogs.
This will cause them to have a reduced quality of life as a pet. Keeping them in zoos for breeding and trying to save the species is something different and is needed because of the declining population – as we speak.
If you love the red panda as much as we do at Wildpetlife, head over to https://redpandanetwork.org/ to learn more about preservation and how you can support this wild animal.
— Busra, Wildpetlife.com
