My friend Sparkler (in the picture above), a 16-year old Red Panda at the Philadelphia Zoo, has a new female friend living with him, Jing Li (click for link).
Now, the name "Red Panda" is a misnomer, because the red pandas are much more closely related to raccoons and skunks than they are to bears (like the Giant Panda). However, Red Pandas populate the mountains of China like Giant Pandas, and share many aspects of Panda Culture despite their different evolutionary heritage and anatomical differences. For example, the adult Red Pandas are primarily solitary, usually coming together only to mate (which they do much more frequently than Giant Pandas for some unknown reason). They like to climb trees like Giant Pandas. They also primarily eat bamboo, despite the fact that their digestive system cannot efficiently digest cellulose, meaning that they have to eat lots of bamboo, just like Giant Pandas. Like Giant Pandas, they are generally docile creatures, first attempting to flee if they feel threatened and only resorting to the use of violence when there is no alternative, and like the Giant Panda, they are ferocious warriors.
You can learn more about Red Pandas here (click for link).
The vast majority of both Red Pandas and Giant Pandas are Buddhist, despite the Chinese governments oppression of Buddhism. This shared oppression brings these two species closer together.
Humans could learn much by observing the interactions of Giant Pandas and Red Pandas, two completely different species that recognize many shared traits and co-exist peacefully in harmony with nature.
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