Ecological Niche

Red Pandas Playing

 

Surprisingly, the red panda is nocturnal, so it mostly sleeps during the day and wakes up at night. Red panda’s tend to be solitary, but there are some exceptions. Red pandas grow and develop slowly, so they end up having extended associations with their mothers for longer than most other animals. Red pandas have short relationships during breeding season. Though the majority of the red panda’s food source is bamboo, red panda’s act like larger carnivores. This is because red panda’s go out on a search for bamboo, but because bamboo is patchily spread all around, there are times when there is no bamboo around for some red panda’s.

Red panda’s are very territorial and like to mark there territory by urinating, scents from glands on the pads of their feet, and secretion from anal glands. When red panda’s communicate with each other, the do so in an interesting way. They use body language, such as head bobbing and tail arching, and they even make many different kinds of noises.

Baby Red Pandas

The red panda goes about defending itself from predators by doing four things, climbing, using its claws, using its teeth, or making noises. When red pandas feel threatened, their first defense is trying to escape, and that usually means using their claws to climb trees. Believe it or not, red pandas are far more comfortable climbing on trees than walking on the ground. When in desperate need, red pandas bring out their retractable claws or use their teeth. The red panda will even stand on its back legs, snarling and hissing to seem bigger. Also, when the red panda gets nervous or feels threatened, it gives a warning by quacking or huffing. Red pandas can even communicate to each other and alert each other of a close threat by making a whistle sound.

Red pandas eat using their carnivorous teeth. These teeth are strong enough to crack open tons of bamboo as well as predators flesh. Red pandas sleep inside hollowed trees or on tree branches.

A Lazy Red Panda

Red pandas reach sexual maturity around 18-20 months. The red panda breeding season is between early January and early March. While female red pandas are waiting for the birth of her baby, she build a nests and that is where the baby will be born. The gestation period for red pandas tend to last around 3 months. The red panda can have one to four babies in a litter. The average lifespan for red pandas is 12-14 years.

Red pandas are heterotrophs. Red pandas are endothermic mammals. They are mostly classified as primary consumers and for the most part are omnivores. For the most part, red pandas eat bamboo but occasionally, they will eat small mammals, birds, eggs, blossoms as well as berries. Red pandas are predators and prey. The main dangers to the red panda are larger carnivores and humans, as well as deforestation.