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Why Is The Red Panda Endangered?

Decent Essays
The human population is advancing faster than ever before, but because of modernization and human activity, the lives of other species are at risk. Currently, there are over 2,000 endangered species listed. Endangered species are species that are in danger of extinction. The Red Panda is currently listed as endangered. Three thousand to seven thousand red pandas live in China and five thousand to six thousand inhabit India. There are only ten thousand individuals left in the world and the population decreased about forty percent in the past fifty years. The animal greatly resembles a raccoon and is about forty-two inches long, about the size of a house cat. They weigh about seven to fourteen pounds and their soft dense fur covers the entire body including their feet. Similar to their relative, the giant panda, they have an extended wrist bone that functions like a thumb. It’s important to learn about the reasons why the red panda is endangered and how people can help them in the future.…show more content…
They are believed to be extinct in the historical range in China which includes Guizhou, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Qinghai provinces. Red Pandas prefer to live in temperate forests with thick bamboo, understories, and microhabitats containing higher densities of fallen logs and tree stumps. They would use the fallen logs and tree stumps to reach food. Additionally, they are found in tropical and subtropical forests in northern India and their adaptation to this biome remains a mystery. These species are arboreal which means they live in trees. A large part of the red panda’s diet is bamboo leaves just like the giant panda but, unlike the panda, red pandas are not herbivores due to the fact that their food pallet includes bird eggs and various insects in addition to plants. Other food that they eat are fruit, young leaves, roots, succulent grasses, acorns, lichen, and
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