There’s a story a Wired Science about a red panda recently born at the National Zoo.
Lisa Grossman writes that, “[d]espite their name, red pandas (Ailurus fulgens, also called “lesser panda,” “bear cat” and “firefox”) are more closely related to raccoons than to giant pandas. They live in cool bamboo forests in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China, in the Himalayas and in Burma. Fewer than 2,500 red pandas remain in the wild, making this birth a victory for conservationists worldwide as well as for its first-timer parents.”
This small red panda isn’t the most famous red panda, however. That distinction belongs to the legendary Master Shifu of Kung Fu Panda:
There’s also an Adopt a Red Panda option available at the National Zoo’s website.
See, Baby Red Panda Born at National Zoo | Wired Science | Wired.com.