Birmingham Zoo

Red Panda

Common Name

Red Panda

Latin Name

Ailurus fulgens

Interesting Facts

The red panda is crepuscular, most active at dusk and dawn. The diet of the red panda is very low calorie. To compensate for this, they spend a large portion of their time eating and have very slow metabolic rates. They also have a specialized wrist bone called the radial sesamoid that acts as a sort of thumb and is helpful for grasping bamboo stalks.