The Secret Lifeof

The Red PandaWritten and Illustrated by Hannah Sydiongco

Ni Hao!

I’m Zhu,

the

red panda!

We share the same name but I’m not related

to the giant panda at all!

I’m not related to the raccoon either though

we do kind of look alike!

Red pandas are part of our

own unique family...

I live in the

bamboo

forests

of

Central China

I have family all over the Himalayas

including...

Red pandas are small.

I’m the same size as my cat friend!

IBeing small is helpful since I like

taking naps on tree branches.

I like sleeping during

the day

and playing

all night!

I’m three months old. I’m

big enough to

explore the forest with my

mom!

Walking on tree branches is hard but my tail

helps me balance.

I also have “false”

thumbs that help me

climb!

Technically I’m a carnivore but I eat like a herbi-

vore!

Carnivores are

animals that eat

meat.

Herbivores are

animals that eat

plants.

My favorite snacks are bamboo leaves, berries,

bird eggs, and blossoms. Yummy!

When I’m really hungry I can eat up to 45% of

my body weight.

That’s about 200,00

bamboo leaves!

When I need help, I make a “twittering” sound to

get my mom’s attention.

The forest is a scary place with snow leopards

hiding in the shadows.

Luckily my red and white

fur helps me blend in with

the trees.

I also have sharp claws. No one will want to mess

with me!

When I’m a year old, I’ll live on my own. Adults

like to live alone.

Though during the winter, the adults look out for

mates!

Then they will build nests made out of sticks and

leaves, and one to four cubs.

Having cubs is good because there’s not a lot of

us left. There’s less than 10,000 adults in the wild!

That makes me sad...

With our homes being destroyed and

humans hunting us for our fur, it’s no red pandas

are endangered!

Thanks to the International Trade in Threatened

and Endangered species..

We are

protected and

growing in

numbers!

We’re pretty famous. Humans all over the world

know who we are.The Lepcha people call us

“sak nam”.

We’re called “bhalu biralo” or bear-cat in

Nepal

In China, we’re known as

hóngxióngmāo (āā/āāā)

or red panda

We’re really important to human culture. For

example...

Red pandas are the mascot of the

International Tea Festival in Darjeeling, India!

We’re also inspired a lot

of pop culture

characters!

Pabu from “Legend of Korra”

Master Shifu from

“Kung Fu Panda”.

Mozilla

FireFox!

IBeing a red panda is the best!

Thanks for reading.