Learn all about Red Pandas

Hey guys, it's Zookeeper Jules here. I'm going to introduce you to two of our beautiful red pandas. Now, these two here are two males. They are actually twins. Now, let me see who we've got here. It's just got to be able to tell the two apart by looking at their facial features. So it looks like we have Makalu right here on the left and his twin brother Shifu on the right. So these two were actually born here at Symbio and they're over two years old now. They were actually our second ever red panda litter born here at Symbio Zoo. So we consider them to be quite special little lads. Now, red pandas in the wild, guys, unfortunately facing some pretty severe threats, just the same as a lot of animals all over the world. However, the red pandas are actually classified as an endangered species. And there are many reasons for this. Do you guys have any manners whatsoever? Are we still seeing some sharing happening here? There we go. So unfortunately, as I said, they are an endangered species and many threats, you know, will actually bring their population right down. And a couple of those are habitat destruction, which you've probably heard a lot about over the years for many animals. But they actually do get poached from the wild, either for bushmeat or even for the pet trade as well. So this means that their population is declining and has been on the downward trend for such a long time. Now, it is estimated that there are less than 10,000 red pandas left in the wild. And it really is an estimation, because it's quite hard to be able to figure out how many red pandas are left in the wild because they do live in some pretty extreme weather. And they actually live at some pretty extremely high elevations as well. So we're talking like Mount Everest base camp is as high as red pandas can be found occurring naturally in the wild. So that's a really, really difficult, as you can imagine, for us humans to be able to enter these territories to survey how many pandas are actually left in the wild. So it is a little bit of an estimation at the moment. Are you after some more? How about we refill this bowl? All right. What have we got here? You're just going to take it away from me. Here we go. What if I help you be good sharers? There we go. All right. So you can see the red pandas do have quite an appetite. This is probably their second or third feed for the day. And what they're actually eating is what we refer to as a panda crumble. Now, the panda does have quite a specialized diet because in the wild they primarily eat bamboo leaves. And then other than that, they can actually feed on lots of different plants and flowers and fruits in the wild. And very opportunistically, they will actually feed on forms of protein such as birds, eggs, even birds. So the red pandas will opportunistically eat other forms of protein in the forms of birds, eggs and birds themselves as well. Even a reptile, if they can get their little mouth onto one. Excuse me. So that's why this diet looks quite strange. It does actually come to us in a pelleted form. And we do soak it in water overnight. So it's more malleable for their, you know, their little jaws. There you go, darling. So I think that's why they look so eager for food all the time is because, you know, they are actually a nocturnal animal as well. They can be classified as crepuscular, which means that they're going to be active at dawn and dusk, but primarily their activity is going to be happening at night. Now, usually in the wild, red pandas, just like these two boys, you wouldn't find together. OK, and that's because typically male red pandas are quite territorial, you know, so that means they need lots of territory to be able to claim as their own. And they will defend that. And they will actually scent mark their territory to show all the other red pandas in the area that that's their place. And please do not cross. However, with these two being that they are twins, we can get away with housing them together, especially that they are still a young age of just over two years old. So we do watch their behavior quite frequently. And we are there for them to try and help them and help us determine whether or not they can still stay living together. So far, they get along pretty well and we don't have any problems as yet. And we're hoping that that will continue into the future. So the red panda twins wouldn't typically be living together at this age in the wild. By now, they would often be leaving mum and they would be going their separate ways because the males are actually territorial. We can get away with these two living together because they have been, you know, cub mates their entire life. And, you know, it is up to us to watch out for their welfare and make sure that they are still getting along, which is so far so good. Now, in the wild, they are considered to be a solitary animal, except for when they are raising their cubs. So these males will become territorial because they want to have the access to the only females in their area. So it is a little bit of a competition out there in the wild and different vocalizations that you can hear from the red pandas is they would be producing this high pitched whistling noise. And that is to attract a mate. And when a female is coming into oestrus, which in the southern hemisphere. So for us down here in Australia is typically going to be anywhere between probably June all the way through to September. And that means we're going to have hopefully a gestation from around 100 to 135 days. OK, so there can be quite a long gestation, a long pregnancy. And the female is able to produce anywhere from one all the way up to a litter of four cubs, which is quite rare to have a litter of four being produced. But even here at Symbio, we were lucky enough to have a litter of triplets, which was very, very special. Now, I'm giving them a little bit of a treat here. We've got a little bit of pear and grapes, as you can see. Now, they really, really like that. They are one of the only mammals out there who can actually taste the sweetness in these grapes and the pears. Now you can see how Shifu right here is actually putting his claws to pretty good use. Now, remember, I mentioned that these animals live at very, very high elevations. They like the really, really mountainous regions of Nepal, Bhutan, eastern China and even down into India as well. Now, to be living at such high elevations and to be living up in these giant trees, they need to be very well adapted to being up high. So you can see he is using these beautiful claws here, which we call semi retractable. I don't know if you can see them just there. He is not hurting me just yet. I don't think his intention would be to actually hurt me. But those claws, when he does reach his arm out to put his paw on my arm, those claws actually come out. So you can see how good they are at gripping. And that allows the red panda to actually traverse straight down a tree trunk. So even the tree in the background, they can walk down it head first. Now, they have very specialized wrists that enable them to turn their thumbs around so that they can grip the tree properly. That's very, very special. They're very, very perfectly designed to be up in the trees. Now you can see they've got that very, very nice fluffy coat. You know, underneath that, they do have some muscle, of course, but they are mostly fluff at the moment. So you can see they have this beautiful puffy tail and the tail does have rings all the way down. It all has to do with camouflage as well. So once they're right up in those treetops, they have those nice dark legs that actually help them camouflage as well, because when pandas are resting, they will lay themselves along a perch in a tree and they just flop their legs down. And it is really, really hard for other predators to be able to spot a red panda up in a tree. It's all gone, buddy. It's all gone. Now that they've had a bit of a feed, they will hopefully go and have a bit of a rest as well. Is that nice? As long as he licks my finger, it doesn't go to bite it and think it's a pair. All right. So you can see a little bit of defense behavior there. So red pandas, they have a pretty famous defense move or defensive move. And if you look it up on YouTube is probably your best bet. But they do put themselves in a pretty funny stance when they are threatened. So generally, when red pandas are threatened, the first thing that they're going to want to do is run away. Now, if they're so surprised and they feel like they are cornered, what they are actually going to do is put themselves into a threat pose, which is pretty interesting. So as I said, look it up on YouTube. And they actually stand with their two hands right up above their head. And they look like they're saying, all right, I've put my hands up getting robbed or something. And it is quite a funny behavior. But it's the best way that they can make themselves look a lot larger so that hopefully they can threaten whatever is trying to attack them. Now, the red panda is famous for eating bamboo. And a lot of people will actually think that the giant panda is also related to the red panda. And I guess that's because they both eat bamboo and they both have the name panda. But they are very, very different species. Even the red panda is classified as its own species entirely and that there are no other species who are in the same family as a red panda. Now, many years ago, we used to believe that the red panda was actually related to raccoons. However, further studies on their genetics have shown us that that is not the case and that they are, in fact, their very own species. So they are very, very special indeed. Now, unlike the giant pandas, these guys, as you can see, are only eating the nice, juicy leaves of the bamboo. Now, the giant pandas, the big black and white ones, they do eat all parts of the bamboo, probably except for the roots. So they'll eat the big stalks that the bamboo grow from as well. However, these pandas are pretty fussy and they will only eat these nice, juicy leaves. Now, unfortunately for them, their digestive system does not allow them to actually digest this leaf very well. So that means they have to eat a lot of it. So we're talking like a few kilos of leaves every single day. There you go. You're going to have some too. Here at Symbio, you can actually come behind the scenes to meet our red pandas. These two beautiful boys right here are the ones that you will be able to cut up nice and close to and have a feel of that beautiful fur. I'll introduce you to one of our other red pandas. This is Pabu. Now, he's an adult male. He's currently around seven years old. And he is, in fact, our red panda twins dad. What's going on, buddy? Are you good? So he's done a very, very good job at contributing to the breeding program for red pandas in Australia. Unfortunately for the program, though, he's pretty good at producing sons. So he has only produced five males. So no daughters as yet. But hopefully there is a future for females. Good boy. Yeah, turn around. There you go. Listen to the noise that he makes when he's eating. Some people might think that's gross, but I think it's very cute. And while we're nice and close, you can actually see his whiskers. So you can see them on top of his eyes and also around his cheeks and just on top of the nose there as well. Now, these whiskers are, of course, really, really important for when these animals are climbing around the trees. These whiskers, just like cats, I guess, and many other species allow them to be able to judge the gaps that they need to get through from perch to perch. And you can also see that red pandas have pretty small eyes as well. Now, you can imagine if you are climbing around trees all the time, you'd be quite often be getting a branch stuck to the eye. So you don't want to have these big, big, beautiful eyes to be able to see with. You need to be able to protect those eyes because they are extremely important for you. So having nice, small eyes, I guess you could compare them to koalas here in Australia who have a similar lifestyle living high up in the trees. Thanks for tuning in with me, Jules and our beautiful red pandas here at Symbio. And keep an eye on our Facebook page for more amazing educational videos on the rest of our beautiful animals.