WINSTON WEEKLY^[1]

March 1, 2026

Vol. 4, No. 9

RARE AND WONDERFUL[2]

French zoologist and paleontologist Frederic Cuvier described the red panda “as the most beautiful animal he had ever seen.” Today, less than 10,000 remain in the wild. Although their name suggests a relationship with the giant panda, they are more closely related to racoons, weasels, and skunks. Nicknamed “red bear-cat” given their affinity for grooming themselves with their tongue, carrying their young by their necks, and curling up like cats, these rare and wonderful creatures communicate by squeaking or emitting a duck-like sound known as a huff-quack.

A mere three to four ounces at birth, they grow to eight to fourteen pounds. Fully grown, they are usually two feet in length with a tail between ten to twenty inches long. Their tails serve as a blanket in their mountain habitats. At home in the mountains of Nepal, Myanmar, and central China, northern Myanmar is home to the Bumhpa Bum Wildlife Sanctuary. Founded in 2004, Bumpha Bum joined with the Hponkanrazi Sanctuary. Spanning more than 11,000 square miles, it also includes the largest tiger sanctuary in the world, and is home to clouded leopards, Asian elephants, and crab-easting mongoose.  

With a pseudo-thumb, red pandas are acrobatic creatures. Although they occasionally eat eggs, berries, and roots, their primary diet consists of bamboo. To conserve energy, they sleep seventeen hours a day. Active at dawn and dusk, their typical lifespan in the wild is between eight to ten years.  

WEEKLY ACTIVITY

Explore zoos with red pandas or those that participate in the Species Survival Plan (SSP). SSP is a cooperative population management and conservation program managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Learn more at www.aza.org, How does their lifespan in captivity compare with their lifespan in the wild?

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[1] A weekly blog/newsletter by Alysen Bayles to be shared with the appropriate attribute.

[2] Resources: www.redpandanetwork.org; https://myanmardeltatracel.wordpress.com; Shreya Dasgupta, Saving Myanmar’s red pandas by protecting land, educating people, 2015, www.news.mongabay.com; Jenny Kellett, Red Pandas: The Ultimate Book, Bellanova Books, 2023.