This International Red Panda Day, Saturday 19th September, Drusillas Park is celebrating two of its red panda residents while inviting visitors to help protect their endangered relatives in the wild.
With their fluffy tails, rust-red coats and remarkable climbing skills, red pandas are instantly recognisable. Yet these elusive forest dwellers once left scientists scratching their heads: were they bears, raccoons or something else entirely?
Today, we know red pandas belong to their own animal family, Ailuridae, separate from both bears and raccoons. There are two distinct types, the Chinese and Himalayan red panda, found in mountain forests across parts of China and the eastern Himalayas.
Drusillas is home to two red pandas: eight-year-old male Maja and 14-year-old female Mulan. By sharing some of their species’ extraordinary adaptations, the Sussex wildlife park hopes to inspire visitors to support red panda conservation.
Drusillas keeper, Elysia Monro said: “Red pandas are animals that people fall in love with straight away, but there’s so much more to them than their beautiful appearance. International Red Panda Day is a chance to share what makes them so special, while highlighting why they need our help.
“For years, scientists debated where red pandas belonged in the animal kingdom. They were grouped with raccoons and bears at different points, but we now know they have a family all of their own.”
Built for life in cold mountain forests, red pandas have dense fur that keeps them warm in chilly temperatures and snowy conditions. Even their paws are covered in fur, providing insulation and helping them grip slippery branches.
Elysia continued: “They’re wonderfully equipped for the cold, right down to their furry feet. Their thick coats and bushy tails help keep them warm, and they can curl up with their tails wrapped around themselves like a blanket.
“Their red colouring might look striking to us, but it’s also excellent camouflage. It helps them blend into the reddish moss and lichens growing on trees in their natural habitat. They can be surprisingly difficult to spot in the wild, even when you’re looking for them.”
Red pandas also have an elongated wrist bone that acts rather like a thumb. This clever adaptation helps them grasp bamboo, their main food, and grip branches as they move through the trees. Combined with curved claws and flexible ankles, it makes them accomplished climbers, able to descend tree trunks headfirst.
Sadly, these remarkable adaptations cannot protect them from the threats facing their forest homes. Red pandas are classified as ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and their wild population is declining.
Their elusive nature makes accurate surveys difficult, but some estimates suggest there may be as few as 2,500 remaining in the wild. Habitat loss and fragmentation, alongside poaching and other human pressures, are putting their future at risk.
To mark International Red Panda Day, Drusillas will host a special workshop in its Discovery Centre next week on Saturday 26th September. Visitors can enjoy red panda crafts, decorate their own paper red panda and add it to a forest display, and explore a conservation corner to learn more about the species, Maja and Mulan, and the work of the Red Panda Network.
The Park will also hold a fundraising raffle, with a prize hamper including Drusillas admission tickets for a family of four. In addition, 20% of red panda plushie sales on the day will be donated to the Red Panda Network.
Funds raised will support the organisation’s Forest Guardian Programme, which trains and pays local people in Nepal to monitor red pandas, protect their habitat and raise conservation awareness within their communities. Forest Guardians also help identify threats and carry out anti-poaching patrols, making those who live closest to red panda habitat central to its protection.
Elysia added: “Maja and Mulan give our visitors the chance to see these wonderful animals up close and learn about the challenges their wild relatives face.
“By joining in with the crafts, entering the raffle or choosing to buy a red panda plushie, visitors can help support the people working to protect them in the wild. We hope everyone leaves knowing a little more about red pandas and feeling inspired to help safeguard their future.”
To find out more and support the Red Panda Network go to: https://redpandanetwork.org/
For more information on Drusillas Conservation in Action go to: Drusillas Conservation in Action