Red Panda: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Five facts

1. Red pandas have a "false thumb", an extension of a wrist bone. It lets them grip bamboo stalks.
2. A red panda has the gut of a meat-eater, so it digests bamboo poorly. The bamboo is through its body in two to four hours.
3. Red pandas mark their territory with urine, droppings and gland scent. To people, it smells like ammonia or pepper.
4. Red pandas have at least seven different calls, from growls and barks to hoots, bleats and twitters.
5. Red pandas nap in trees. When hot, they stretch out on a branch, legs dangling. When cold, they curl up with a hindlimb over the face.

The quiz

1. What does the red panda's false thumb help it grip?

• Fish
• Bamboo stalks (correct)
• Bird eggs
• Tree bark only

This extra thumb, a stretched wrist bone, helps it hold bamboo.

2. How long does bamboo take to pass through a red panda's gut?

• Two to four hours (correct)
• Half a day
• Two days
• Two weeks

Bamboo is only in its gut for two to four hours.

3. What is a red panda's scent used for?

• Scaring off bees
• Attracting fish
• Marking territory and communicating (correct)
• Keeping its fur dry

Red pandas mark the edges of their territory with scent.

4. How many different sounds have been recorded from the red panda?

• Two
• Four
• At least seven (correct)
• About thirty

At least seven vocalisations have been recorded.

5. How does a red panda sleep when it is cold?

• Stretched out with legs dangling
• Hanging upside down
• Curled up with a hindlimb over its face (correct)
• Buried in leaves on the ground

When it is cold it curls up with its hindlimb over the face.

More about the Red Panda

All lessons

Nature documentaries