Red Panda: Endangered and Easy to Overlook
Ailurus fulgens (Endangered since 2015)
Not a panda relative at all; its closest cousins are raccoons and weasels.
THE NUMBER
2,500 to 10,000
red pandas are estimated to remain in the wild, and China's population alone has dropped roughly 40% over the last 50 years.
Source: IUCN Red List, 2015 assessment
Why they're at risk
Logging and farmland expansion are splitting the Himalayan forests red pandas depend on into smaller, disconnected patches, cutting them off from food and mates.
Wild facts
1
Wraps its bushy tail around its body like a built-in blanket to stay warm at high altitude.
2
Has a false thumb, an extended wrist bone, that helps it grip bamboo stalks.
3
Spends most of its life alone and mostly at night, coming down from the trees to feed after dark.
See it in the wild
The Forgotten Panda, via Red Panda Network
How your plush helps
Every Snugglebug red panda plush supports Red Panda Network, which works with local communities in Nepal to protect and reconnect red panda habitat.
Meet Red Panda Network →Bring the wild home
Printable coloring page
A coloring sheet for after unboxing.
View & Download →
Keep exploring
See the rest of the endangered species crew and shop more plush friends.
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