Tim writes: I have just returned from a trip to Sichuan in China where I managed to photograph this wild Red Panda crossing a track between bamboo thickets. They live in high altitude forests (2000-3000m) where they feed mainly on bamboo. In autumn they venture out of the bamboo thickets to feed on rosehips. I have seen quite a few feeding in trees but this was the first one I have seen in the open, on the ground.
Because they have eye-patches, eat bamboo and live in the same areas, they were thought to be related to Giant Pandas but DNA has settled the issue. They are not bears, but are in a family all by themselves (Ailuridae) but that falls within the super family Musteloidae which includes Weasels, Otters, Skunks and Raccoons.
Incidentally, this is the eastern race Ailurus fulgens styani which is found in China and northern Burma. It is distinguished from the nominate race from Nepal and Bhutan by its thicker, blacker body fur. Eastern animals are more uniformly red. The Red Panda has been classified as endangered by IUCN since 2008 because there are fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and the population is decreasing. The scientific name translates as shining (or flashing) cat, and styani commemorates Frederick William Styan, a 19th Century sea trader and wildlife collector who worked in China for 27 years.
What a delightful animal ! I’ve always admired them in zoos, but to see one so well in the wild is great – I don’t imagine they are too easy to photograph in their bamboo thickets !