R E D  P A N D A S, A i l u r u s  f u l g e n s

Red pandas are most active at dawn and dusk and spend their time wandering around the bamboo forests and feeding. Along with their excellent sight, smell and hearing, they also have whiskers that helps them navigate through the dense vegetation when it is dark out. The herbivorous diet of the red panda consist mainly of bamboos. They selectively feed on the youngest, most tender leaves and shoots. 

 

Aside from their primary consumption of bamboos, red pandas consume other plant life that serves as complementary foods to satisfy their nutritional balance that varies season to season. Some of their seasonal supplements to bamboo includes fruits, berries, blossoms, seeds, nuts, and bird eggs. They may also forage on the ground for roots, mushrooms, grasses, and insects. Their proximity to the water is also an essential to their survival due to the fact that they eliminate more water than what their food source can bring in.

 

Surprisingly, the guts of red pandas are not specialized to handle the consumption of plant matter. Instead, red pandas have evolved several ways that allows them to meet their energy demands. First off, their canines are modified to shear off the leaves and their premolars and molars have the ability to crush and grind them. This allows them to chew their food more effectively and enables them to digest more of the plant matter cell content. In addition to that, red pandas have a low metabolic rate that allows them to conserve energy and their metabolic rate can slow down even further in colder temperatures. Their thick fur coat also helps them conserve their body heat. In the end, red pandas need to consume larger quantities of food in order to maintain a healthy diet and so they spend a good part of their day foraging and eating.