Choose A Translation:
A) "HEY! Who're you callin' 'lesser'?!"
B) "Bugger off, I'm sleeping. Yes, again."
C) "There'd better be biscuits in your pockets, bub..."
Q. Uh...what's the deal here?
A. To put it simply: I love red pandas. When I was a kid, my mom subscribed to lots of Time-Life series to feed my voracious love of science and animals, and in one book called "Zoos" (it had a red panda right on the cover!) there was one photo of a whole passle o' red pandas taking in the sunshine. I loved that picture, but I didn't think much about it until I was about 17 and my best friend got involved with Furries. (If you know what a Furry is, stop looking at me funny -- I'm not.)
Part of being a Furry was chosing an animal to represent oneself. I never really was all that interested in Furrydom, but at the time it got me thinking about animals...and I don't know why, but I remembered that photo from that old Time Life book. Curious, I did some research for amusement value. When I mentioned the findings to my Furry friends, they promptly cracked up and said that THAT was "my Furry," my representative animal. I resisted for a while, but eventually I gave in because heck, there are far worse things than being associated with these wonderful creatures...
Q. Sure, but why give them their own website?
A. Because I had to hunt all over the bloody Internet to find any info on them. Hopefully this site will serve as a one-stop research area for all those other people interested in...oh, who am I kidding, no one even knows what they are...
Q. Okay then, what's a red panda?
A. The cutest animal in the world! (Red-ruffed lemurs give them a run for their money, but they're not as photogenic.) The red panda, also known as the "lesser" panda (how insulting) has long been believed to be related to both raccoons and the so-called giant panda, although recent genealogical research shows that they may in fact be distant enough from both to warrant their own family -- in other words, being proudly labelled Ailuridae instead of being lumped into Procyonidae with raccoons. (Yes, I just spelled those two words from memory. Frightening, isn't it?)
Q. Enough with the scientific stuff already! What IS it?
A. The red panda shares the giant panda's thumb-like digit, its preferences in habitat/climate, and its taste for bamboo, but from there all bets are off. Despite what the name implies, this critter is not a smaller red version of its big cousin, as you can see by my photo galleries. A red pandas looks like a sturdy cat/raccoon cross with its reddish body, brown belly, cream-ringed tail, white mask/muzzle/ear fringes, and dark smudges under its eyes. (Of the two subspecies -- Ailurus fulgens fulgens and Ailurus fulgens styani -- the styani have lighter, almost frosted faces. I believe. I've been trying to confirm this for ages.)
Q. Do I have to dig through all those links...?
For now, I'm afraid so. I do plan to compile a FAQ when I have the time to sift through all the conflicting information.
Q. I've never heard of 'em. Are they rare?
A. Fairly, and becoming more endangered by the day. Red pandas are not extensively hunted for fur or caught to be sold as pets (though both tragedies do happen...back up, where can I get one as a pet?! Sorry, moment of weakness...), but like many of our furry friends today they are in severe danger of losing their natural habitat. Probably the only reason there is still a wild population at all is due to the fact that their East-Asian stomping grounds coincide with those of the giant panda -- who are, of course, the world's darlings. (Personally, I don't see the big deal about the big clumsy smelly buggers, but if their insanely wild popularity helps to save MY babies, well, all right, they can live.)
Q. Hey! What do you have against giant pandas?!
A. Righteous indignation. Curiously, the red panda was discovered by the Western world first and was treasured at zoos as "the most beautiful animal in the world" until those black-and-white lugs stole the spotlight and sank them into obscurity. Red panda rights! Up with red pandas! Woo! (Yes. I'm being silly now. Chill.)
Q. This isn't much of a FAQ anymore.
A. Say, you're right. Go look at the pictures and check out the links. And if you should happen to visit the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee (home of the best red panda breeding program in the United States) think of me...
 
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