Saturday, May 16, 2009

The Red Panda

Yesterday, juz as usual, i came back from school
sitting at my vry comfortable couch, switching on my favourite TV programs ------- 'The Astro Learning' package

When i turned to the 'Animal Planet' channel, i saw this interesting creature ------'The Red Panda'
Most of us hav heard of 'The Great Panda', consisting black n white colour
but hav u ever heard of a 'Red Panda' ?
If u are imagining a great panda that is red colour de, then u r wrong.....

I hav done some research on the net....
Actually, the red panda is slightly larger than the ordinary domestic cats, about 79 - 120 cm long( including its tall which is 30 -60 cm long), 3 - 6 cm weight.
It has long n soft reddish-brown fur on its upper parts, blackish fur on its lower parts, a light face with tear markings n robust cranial-dental features

See how long its tail is?
It is found in Himalayas in Bhutan, southern China, Pakistan, India, Laos, Nepal n Burma Highlands.


Many of us are using this Mozilla Firefox Explorer to surf the net, but do u know what exactly a Firefox is?
Actually the firefox is the red panda, the specific name of the red panda is called 'Ailurus fulgens'

Besides the firefox, the red panda also hav other common names like 'shinning cat', 'lesser panda', 'red fox' etc.....many many more
Similar to the great panda, the red panda is also a bamboo feeder, it consumes a lot of bamboos a day although by the look of its body it looked small as it only can digest about 30 per cent of the food
It has a long, bushy tail with six alternating yellowish red transverse ocher rings, providing a balance n excellent camouflage against its habitat of moss-n lichen-covered trees.
It also hav a double layer short fur as an insulator to the cold climate at the highlands, they r mostly live in the bamboo forests at the upper highlands which is misty.


So, it is rather difficult to spot them
Research has been proven that they hav the characteristics of bear coz they hav strong, curved n sharp semi-retractile claws standing inward for grasping of narrow tree braches, leaves n fruits, juz like a bear.

See those claws? looked juz like the bears'

They also possesses the traits of fox as they hav straight ears like foxs n whiskers like cats
Suprisingly, some even said that the red panda is linked to the snakes n reptiles since they hav the ability to use their tongue to sense the humidity n the temperature of the surrounding, juz like what the snakes can do.

Got some similarity la hor?

Do u noe that the red panda is more scarce than the great panda? It is under the endangered species category.
Owing to the fewness of red pandas in our planet earth, it is also considered as one of the protected animals.
In southwest China, the red panda is hunted for its valuable fur n its bushy long tail makes a perfect material to make hats which symbolises 'good luck'
Deforesation, farming n grazing(creating field for goats n cows) also possesses a threat to the red pandas as their habitats are lost during these process.
Now, the hunting of the red panda is considered an illegal activity n those who are found doing so will be punished heavily.
Hence, these action should be arrested (stopped) immediately to ensure that the continuous survival of these precious yet feeble creatures so that they will not extinct.


Let us all protect n save these creatures together!!!


p.s : i dun wan to be a zoologist or a veterinarian coz will not survive in Malaysia de,hehe
Juz interested in studying animals as a hobby nia, nothing much...
For more info about the red panda, plz visit this website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda
PEACE

1 comment:

  1. Damn comel le!Thanks for giving these info!!I love it!!

    ReplyDelete