Red panda

Ailurus fulgens

NZ red panda
IUCN Conservation Status –
Least Concern
Extinct In The Wild
Class: Mammals
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ailuridae

We have two female red pandas here at Newquay Zoo. Seren arrived back in 2019 from Touroparc in France, while Sundara moved from Banham Zoo in East Anglia in 2023. They can often be found curled up high in the tree tops, so don’t forget to look up!

Red pandas are native to the mountains and forests from northern Myanmar to Western Nepal.

They belong to a carnivorous group of mammals, but feed almost exclusively on bamboo shoots – eating 20 to 30 per cent of their body weight in bamboo a day! They will also eat grubs, lizards, chicks and bird’s eggs.

Interesting facts!

  • Red pandas are the original panda and were given the name roughly 50 years before the giant white and black panda.
  • Breeding season for red pandas is usually between January and March. After a gestation period of 4 months, 1-5 cubs are born. The young will stay in the nest that mum made prior to the birth for around 90 days, and they will usually only begin to appear at night.
  • They have a false thumb, or extended wrist bone, which has developed over time to help them climb trees and eat bamboo.
  • The internet browser Firefox is named after the red panda.

Conservation

Red pandas are classed as Endangered in the wild, with their numbers continuing to decline. The main reasons for this decline is habitat loss due to deforestation and poaching and hunting for fur and the pet trade.