Ailurus fulgens

(Cuvier, 1825)

Vernacular names
English : Western red panda
French : Petit panda, Panda roux

Classification
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Family : Ailuridae
Notes : No subspecies known. Formerly 2 subspecies known but most authors now split them. However this arrangement is not unanimously recognised.

Identification
Body length of 73 cm, tail length of 49 cm, weight of 6 kg. Species unmistakable with round head. Back bright rufous brown, black limbs and belly. Banded tail. White facial marks. This former subspecies has a clearer face coloration.

Range and habitat
This species occurs in the eastern Himalayas in Bhutan, north-east India, north Myanmar and East China. Lives in temperate montane forests with bamboo thickets, between 700 and 4800m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : ENDANGERED
CITES : Appendix I
Status : The species is endangered because of habitat fragmentation, poaching and other disturbances from humane activities. Occurs in protected areas.
Ex-Situ Programs : SSP in America, EEP in Europe

Observation

 

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