RED PANDA (AILURUS FULGENS)

The red panda is a smaller relative of the well known giant panda. Like its larger relative, the red panda is a member of the order Carnivora, even though the vast majority of its diet is vegetable in nature. There is some argument as to whether pandas are more closely related to the raccoon family or to the bear family, but many experts think they belong to a family of their own. The wah is slightly larger than a large housecat, has rusty red fur, a long light and dark striped tail, a short white nose, and dark tear tracks. It is crepuscular (active around dawn and dusk) and scansorial (well adapted for climbing), spending much of its time in trees. Red pandas are called by many names. Some of these are: lesser panda, hun-ho, wah, and red cat bear.

The red panda lives in the bamboo forests of the Himalayan mountains. Its range extends through Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Burma, and Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in western China. The panda lives at elevations from 2,000 to 4,800 meters. Here, the weather is cool and moist with a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees above, and bamboo and rhododendrons below.

In the wild, red pandas eat mostly bamboo leaves. They supplement this diet with berries, mushrooms, grasses and bark. Red pandas do eat some meat. They eat insects, bird eggs, bird nestlings, and may even catch an occasional mouse or bamboo rat. In zoos, wahs eat a specially formulated ��panda biscuit�� supplemented with cut fresh bamboo. The panda can grasp bamboo stalks with a specialized wrist bone called the radial sesamoid. This bone acts as sort of thumb. The wah��s digestive system is like a carnivore��s; it has a simple stomach and short intestine. This means it can not get the most from its low calorie diet. Wahs must spend a large portion of the day feeding. To help make up for this, they have a low metabolic rate.

Red Panda

Brown color Panda did exist

BROWN BEARS

COLORATION

The coloration differences between Brown Bears and Bamboo Bears are probably the most notable. Brown Bears can range in color from black to dark brown, light brown to tan or blonde. Some scientists believe the coastal brown bears of Southeast Alaska differ from other Brown Bears (better known as Grizzlies) in their coloration. They believe these coastal bears more often have darker coats than their inland relatives do, which is possibly attributed to living in a landscape of thicker forest versus wider open areas. The darker coat blends them better into their surroundings, thus perhaps they have evolved to carry on this coloration trait. One of the earliest accounts of a Brown / Grizzly Bear in history is found in the notes of a Lewis and Clark expedition. Here the Brown Bear is perceived as a "Great White Bare" due to the light appearance of silver tipped grisled hairs in an older bear, which is amplified in the sunlight. See above picture to the left, which shows a light colored Brown Bear.

In contrast, the Bamboo Bear has only one color variation found in a different genus of the subfamily of Ursidea called Ailurinae - the Red Panda also known as Ailurus fulgens or Red Bear. These Pandas have a reddish brown coat, and look more like a racoon than a bear, with distinct racoon-like facial markings and ringed tails. However, when most people think of Bamboo Bears they think of Ailuropoda melanoleuca with it's beloved black and white pattern, that rarely differs. Patches of black cover the ears, the eyes, the front legs, chest and shoulders as well as the hind legs and rump. Within its natural environment (the deep forest and, at upper elevations, snow and rock), its mottled coloring provides camouflage.*2 This is noticeable in the picture above (see caption). While both bears coloration provide camouflage the Brown Bear wins when found in the shadows of a dark forest, rendering the bear almost invisible!

HEAD

Aside from obvious color variations mentioned in the previous section, the Brown Bear's head has a slightly more elongated snout than the Bamboo Bear. View the frontal pictures below of both bears to compare. This difference is most likely because the Brown Bear uses this elongated snout to scrounge for small rodents in the ground, catching fish and foraging for low lying plants and tubers, which complement its diet. Although the Bamboo Bear also eats fish and rodents, it relies primarily on bamboo for its diet, which requires being able to grasp its food in its paws more so than scrounging with a protruded snout. There is a slight difference in the eyes which are more offset in the Brown Bear than the Panda. Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the Bamboo Bears lack of a ruff, a mane-like bunch of fur and skin that surrounds the head of the Brown Bear. Both bears have similar ears which protrude from the top of the head like furry knobs. The incisors of the Brown Bear are sharper and more curved than the Pandas, better enabled for tearing at meat. The Panda has large molars adapted for crushing tough stalks of bamboo.*4 Bamboo leaves, stems and shoots account for 99% of the panda's diet.

FEET

One of the most notable characteristics of the Brown Bear is its large padded feet and long curved claws. Due to the heavy weight of Brown Bears, the paws make tracks forming deep depressions in the ground. These tracks never cease to amaze us when we can often fit both of our feet inside one lone footprint of the Great Bear. For centuries, these feet have left their marks across the rugged terrain they travel, making trails that cover vast distances creating the home range of the Brown Bear. The pad of the paw forms a rough oval shape that characterizes the Brown Bears footprint. The oval is wider towards the instep, which narrows towards the center of the sole and then widens out. The Brown Bear has five toes closely placed together as seen in the picture above and to the right. The front claws are long and curved, more so than the Brown Bear's hind feet or any of the Bamboo Bears. The biggest difference in a Bamboo Bears foot is its "forepaw, which is different from other bears. It has an elongated wrist bone that provides a sixth finger, giving the Panda the ability to grasp bamboo stems, its main food".*1 Because of the sixth finger (also called a radial sesamoid) scientists often debate as to whether or not Bamboo Bears could possibly belong to the raccoon family, as this is a trait common to raccoons. Another distinguishing characteristic that separates the Bamboo Bears hind feet from other species of bears including the Brown Bear is the lack of a heel pad. The Brown Bears hind feet pads are larger than its front pads, providing more surface for standing upright.

Aside from these differences, both species feet are very similar; however, a Bamboo Bear is less likely to leave tracks and trails as profound as the Brown Bears. Bamboo Bears do not have nearly as large of a home range as Brown Bears do, and are much more sedentary because they are too tired to move as they are always on the brink of starvation. They also spend a great deal of time in trees, which leaves little opportunity to wear tracks or trails down into the ground. They are not as heavy as the Brown Bears either; thus, their feet leave less of a depression. You may wonder with feet that are so similar why we do we not see more Brown Bears up in trees? Although Brown Bear cubs will climb trees on occassion, the massive size of the adults makes tree climbing awkward. Also unlike Pandas who receive the majority of their food by climbing trees, Brown Bears don't find any of their food up in trees thus have less of a reason to climb them.

SIZE / BODY SHAPE

Another notable characteristic of the Brown Bear is its size. Adult Brown Bears average 500 lbs., while some weigh 700-800 lbs., and yet a few have topped 900 lbs. or more. Females are generally smaller than males. Bamboo Bears are smaller in stature and weigh between 165 - 350 lbs. Bamboo Bears are very similar to Black Bears in size and shape. Unlike Pandas and Black Bears, Brown Bears have a large hump of muscle and fat over their shoulders, often giving the bear a hunchback appearance with a broader frontal verses rear girth. These thick shoulder muscles are attributed to digging.*3 On the outer coast of Southeast Alaska Brown Bears have been known to move huge beach logs while digging in kelp for goodies. Unlike Brown Bears, Bamboo Bears do not have the need to dig for their food as the majority of their diet is made up of bamboo. Because of this leaner diet, Bamboo Bears do not build up an excess of fat like Brown Bears and thus are unable to hibernate during the winter. Unlike Brown Bears however, Pandas have a natural supply of food on a year round basis, which is yet another reason hibernation is not necessary.