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Red panda in Sichuan, China
A panda apart
This creature feels most at home up in the trees, but its precise place on the mammal family tree is still debated by biologists. The red panda shares a name (and bamboo diet) with the giant panda, but gene studies have suggested a tighter evolutionary link with mustelids like weasels and skunks. In any case, the red panda remains alone in the Ailuridae family – but that could change. Some researchers think the Himalayan highlands' red pandas are distinct enough from those in southwest China (like our bushy-bodied buddy here) to be another species. And, why not? Cute deserves company.
A panda apart
This creature feels most at home up in the trees, but its precise place on the mammal family tree is still debated by biologists. The red panda shares a name (and bamboo diet) with the giant panda, but gene studies have suggested a tighter evolutionary link with mustelids like weasels and skunks. In any case, the red panda remains alone in the Ailuridae family – but that could change. Some researchers think the Himalayan highlands' red pandas are distinct enough from those in southwest China (like our bushy-bodied buddy here) to be another species. And, why not? Cute deserves company.
This fuzzy creature's nicknames range from "fire fox" to "bearcat".
© John W Banagan / Stone / Getty Images 2026-09-11 08:45:51 :