Latest Red Panda Stories
By Shannon Montgomery, THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON - Two tiny red pandas at Edmonton's Valley Zoo are carrying the survival of their species on their furry shoulders. Tai the female and Pip the male were born May 26 and have already almost tripled their birth weights of 112 and 147 grams. They're the second set of twins born to the zoo's pair of adult red pandas and are part of a breeding program aimed at ensuring survival of the species. The two were taken from their mother shortly after...
EDMONTON - Two tiny red pandas at Edmonton's Valley Zoo are helping to carry the survival of their species on their furry shoulders. Tai and Pip were born May 26, and have already almost tripled their birth weights of 112 and 147 grams. They're the second set of twins born to the zoo's pair of adult red pandas and are part of a breeding program aimed at ensuring survival of the species. The two were taken from their mother shortly after birth when she began grooming one aggressively, and have...
WASHINGTON -- The Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo opened its new Asia Trial and giant panda habitat Tuesday, the first phase of a complete makeover of the zoo's exhibits.Seven Asian species now call the $53 million renovated space home. Besides the zoo's three popular giant pandas, the exhibit includes a larger, more prominent space for sloth bears, fishing cats, red pandas, clouded leopards, a Japanese giant salamander and Asian small-clawed otters."Visitors are treated to up...
GRAY, Tenn. (AP) - Scientists uncovered a second fossil of a red panda species first discovered at the Gray Fossil Site two years ago. Researchers from East Tennessee State University found a lower jawbone from a red panda of the Pristinailurus bristoli species last week. "The nice thing about it is that it's confirmation," Dr. Steven Wallace, ETSU's lead paleontologist at the site, said Wednesday. "You hate to have a one-shot wonder." The species was discovered in January...
BEIJING -- The lightest panda cub born in captivity is doing well and putting on weight since his premature birth in China on the same day the heaviest incubator-bred panda was born at another research center, state media said on Thursday.The male cub only weighed 51 grams (1.8 ounces) when he was born at the Chengdu Giant Panda Reproduction and Research Center on August 7 along with his twin brother, who was almost three times as heavy, Xinhua news agency said.Most pandas born in captivity...
BEIJING -- Chinese vets and dentists are considering implanting three false teeth into a giant panda injured in the wilds of the northern province of Shaanxi, Xinhua news agency said.The operation would help the panda -- who also suffered a fractured skull, broken legs and chest injuries after an apparent fall into a ravine -- to take in more nutrition and help it recover, Xinhua said late on Wednesday."With the three teeth, the giant panda will be able to eat bamboo with ease,"...
SHANGHAI, China -- Scientists using DNA samples have doubled their estimates of the wild panda population in a nature sanctuary in China, a finding they say bodes well for the survival of the endangered species.The researchers believe between 66 and 72 pandas are living in the Wanglang Nature Reserve - more than twice the previous estimate of 32, said Wei Fumin, a zoologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.The scientists arrived at the estimates by taking samples of panda droppings in the...
By Belinda GoldsmithNEW YORK (Reuters) - Giant pandas may not be in as much danger of extinction as feared with a new British-Chinese study finding there could be twice as many living in the wild as previously thought, scientists said on Monday."This finding indicates that the species may have a significantly better chance of long-term viability than recently anticipated, and that this beautiful animal may have a brighter future," the scientists said in a statement.Until now...
By Belinda GoldsmithNEW YORK -- Giant pandas may not be in as much danger of extinction as feared with a new British-Chinese study finding there could be twice as many living in the wild as previously thought, scientists said on Monday."This finding indicates that the species may have a significantly better chance of long-term viability than recently anticipated, and that this beautiful animal may have a brighter future," the scientists said in a statement.Until now scientists...
BEIJING (AP) - There's a new reality show in town - "Panda Cam." The Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in China's southwestern Sichuan province has set up a camera to capture the everyday life of pandas to be watched live on the Internet, the official Xinhua News Agency said. "Panda Cam" will be aired in 20-minute segments from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 10:50 p.m. EDT and 2 a.m. to 2:50 a.m. EDT, Xinhua said. The facility, in the heart of Sichuan's lush,...
Latest Red Panda Reference Libraries
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), also known as the panda, is a species of bear that is native to southwestern and central western areas of China. Its range includes mountain ranges located primarily in Sichuan province, but pandas can also be found in the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It once preferred a habitat within lowland areas, but human encroachment has driven the giant panda into small areas, which contain forested habitats. There are two recognized subspecies of the giant...
The red panda, Ailurus fulgens also known as the lesser panda, bear cat or fire fox, is a mostly herbivorous mammal. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat 21.65 in (55 cm) long. The red panda has semi-retractile claws and, like the giant panda, has a "false thumb" which is really an extension of the wrist bone. Thick fur on the soles of the feet offers protection from cold and hides scent glands. For many decades the taxonomic classification of both the red panda and giant panda has been...
