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 typically born in the early summer months between the late afternoon and the morning. The cubs are born blind and are able to begin opening their eyes and ears within a couple weeks. At first, they are covered with wooly, gray fur but they soon begin to develop their red coarse guard hairs after a few weeks. Nursing lasts about 17 minutes each and occurs throughout the day. Cubs are transported by the mouth of their mothers and are taken to preferred places within the den at irregular intervals. They also move their cubs several times to new dens during the first few weeks after birth when they feel stress of threatened.

 

Their adult coloration can be fully seen after about 70 days. For the first 3 to 4 months, the cubs are nursed by their mother. At around this time, the red panda cubs begins to follow their mother around outside the den. They also begin to chew on bamboo twigs that are brought to the nest and consume bamboo leaves that have been chewed on by their mother. The mother cares for them until they are weaned around 6 to 8 months of age but they remain close until the next breeding. The red panda reaches their adult size after 12 months old and becomes sexually mature at 18 months. Females are unable to breed after they are 12 years of age while males are able to reproduce continously. Red pandas have an average life span of 14 years, where the oldest red panda lived to be 21 years and 7 months old.