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OpinionTransform your living spaces with inspiration, tips, and trends in interior design. From minimalist decor to bold statements, find ideas for every style and budget.
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U.S.//Discover the latest updates from across the United States, including politics, culture, economy, and trending stories. Stay informed on the key events shaping the nation and the topics everyone’s talking about.
Opinion//Transform your living spaces with inspiration, tips, and trends in interior design. From minimalist decor to bold statements, find ideas for every style and budget.
Lifestyle//Explore stories and advice on living your best life. From personal growth to entertainment, dive into the latest in lifestyle trends and inspiration.
Health//Stay informed about health and wellness with expert advice, fitness tips, and the latest medical breakthroughs. Your guide to a healthier and happier life.
September 20, 2025 is International Red Panda Day. These medium-sized mammals are not pandas at all and are more closely related to weasels and raccoons.
CREDIT: Fabian Muehlberger / Red Panda Network.
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Since 2007, the Red Panda Network has protected red pandas and their habitat through community-based conservation programs in Nepal. For this year’s International Red Panda day, the organization is partnering with musicians to launch a music project called Habre. The word habre means red panda in Nepali and the eight-song wellness and meditation album titled “Bamboo Dreams” will help connect listeners with the red panda’s native Himalayan habitat.
These furry, elusive, and admittedly really cute animals are showcased below. (Click to expand images to full screen.)
Red pandas live in temperate broadleaved forests with bamboo understories at altitudes between 7,874 and 12,795 feet. CREDIT: Red Panda Network. Red pandas primarily eat bamboo leaves–and a lot of them. They can digest only about 24 percent of the bamboo they eat, so they must eat 20 to 30 percent of their body weight each day. That comes out to about 2 to 4 pounds of bamboo shoots and leaves. Red pandas will also eat grass and fruit and occasionally an egg, insect, small animal, or bird. CREDIT: Red Panda Network.Red pandas are found in the Eastern Himalayas in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), and China. This one was photographed in Nepal. CREDIT: Red Panda Network.Cubs usually come in twos, but a litter can have as few as one or as many as four babies.The cubs will typically come out of their nest when they are three-months-old, but stay with their mother until the next breeding season begins. These cubs were photographed in Nepal. CREDIT: Red Panda Network / Axel Gebauer. When red pandas feel provoked or threatened, they will bob their heads, arch their tails, or stand up on their hind legs. They also produce a variety of loud noises like the “huff-quack” and a warning whistle. CREDIT: Fabian Muehlberger / Red Panda Network.The red and black color in the fur helps camouflage them from their predators. The red is the same color of the moss on the trees where they live, while the black on their stomach makes it difficult for predators to see them from below. CREDIT: Fabian Muehlberger / Red Panda Network.Red pandas are primarily solitary animals that are most active during the twilight hours of early morning and evening. They will come together in pairs during their breeding season. CREDIT: Red Panda Network / Michael Hoit.While red pandas are adored for their cute faces, these facial markings help them survive. The reddish “tear tracks” that extend down from their eyes to the corner of their mouths likely help keep the sun out of their eyes. The white fur on their face will pick up light and help guide lost cubs back to their mother in the darkness. CREDIT: Fabian Muehlberger / Red Panda Network. During cold mountain weather, red pandas go into what is called “torpor.” They will wrap their fluffy tails around themselves and go into a deep sleep. This reduces their metabolic demands, while lowering their core temperature and respiration rate. CREDIT: Fabian Muehlberger / Red Panda Network.Red pandas are well adapted to live in trees. Their long, bushy tails help them maintain balance and stay safe while traversing the canopy. Their claws are also sharp and can be pulled back like a cat’s claws. Since they have flexible ankles, red pandas are one of the few animals on the planet that can climb straight down a tree, head-first. CREDIT: Red Panda Network. Luna, a red panda that lived captivity at the Cape May County Park & Zoo in New Jersey. Luna died on March 25, 2024 and was believed to be the oldest female of her species in North America at her time of death. The zookeepers tell Popular Science that, “Conserving red pandas isn’t just about saving a single species—it’s about protecting an entire mountain ecosystem where every life is connected. And let’s be honest: the world is simply better with these irresistibly cute creatures in it.” CREDIT: Cape May County Park & Zoo Picasa
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