This Week's Animal (4)

                                 Category:
                 Just because I have the looks, 
               doesn't mean I don't have a heart.
                           The Red Panda

                                          
                               

                                                                                    

   Habitat:                                                          Endangerment level,
   India                                                                       Vulnerable
   China                                                                   
   Nepal                                                      
   Bhutan 
   Burma 

                                                                                   

    Threats:                                                          Scale of an adult red
   Habitat degradation                                        panda compared to a
   Deforestation                                                      full grown man.
   Habitat loss
   Hunting
   Poaching, especially their  irresistible fur

   Diet:
   Bamboo
   Birds
   Small mammals
   Eggs
   Berries
   Flowers

   Reproduction and Life-Cycle:     

   Red pandas are able to mate when
 they're 18 months old or so. They
 will become completely mature
 when they are 2-3 years old.
 Red pandas mate during
 mid-January to early-March.
 A couple of days before she
 gives birth, the female red panda
 starts to collect brushwood, grass, and leaves to make a nest in a rock crevice or a hollow tree. The female will be pregnant for 112-158 days then she will give birth. She will give birth in mid-June to late-July. The size of the litter mainly consists of 1-6 cubs that are blind and deaf.        
             When the cubs are first born       
             their mother will lick them to
             recognize their scent. The
             mother will first spend 60%-90%
             of her time tending to and
             spending time with her cubs.
             After the first week the mother starts to spend more time away from her cubs. She now moves her cubs to different nests that she keeps clean. The cubs open their eyes when they are 18 days old. When they are 90 days old they have already achieved adult fur and coloring and are starting to eat solid foods. The cubs are weaned when they're around 6-8 months old. The cubs will stay with their mother until she has another litter the following summer. Then they leave to find their own territory to live in and it starts all over again.
                                                       
   Freaky Facts:
   Red pandas are closer related to
 weasels than pandas. Red panda
 males fight by standing on their
 hind legs and attacking with their claws. If a human discovers a red panda den more than once, the mother may decide to EAT her cubs!(WOW! That's crazy!) Red pandas use their tongues to detect scents. Red pandas are also known as a "Wah" and a "Fire fox"

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