Red Panda

You had to know this was coming. Ha! Another awesome animal with the moniker of "panda" although this one is no more a bear than the panda is a racoon.

Image via Wikipedia

Red pandas, which resemble raccoons, are about 42 inches long, including a long, bushy tail. They weigh between seven and 14 pounds. Their red-and-white markings blend in with the red mosses and white lichens that grow on the trees in which they live. Their soft, dense fur covers their entire body—even the soles of their feet. Red pandas use their long, bushy tails to balance when they're in trees. They also cover themselves with their tails in winter. ~ source National Zoo 





Also I would like to bring to your attention the addition of a new feature to this blog, "Helping Hands" page, This page will house all the donation, adoption and all helping sites, institutions, companies and charity causes to help animals, people and the environment. After all, everyone and everything is connected. Go check it out now! HELPING HANDS

Help all and you help yourself. So please help yourself in helping all. ;-) 

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Pandas are Awesome!

     I happen to be under the firm and unequivocal opinion that pandas are AWESOME! I know there are many out there who would agree.

     Did you know that pandas have an inseparable relationship with bamboo? They spend at least 12 hours each day eating bamboo. Bamboo actually has very little nutrition per pound, so to get the needed nutrients, pandas eat as much as 84 pounds (38 kilograms) of it each day.

     So you can guess that bamboo is the most important plant in a giant panda's life. Pandas live in cold and rainy bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China.

     Giant pandas have also been known to eat grasses, bulbs, fruits, some insects, and even rodents and carrion. At the San Diego Zoo, pandas are offered bamboo, carrots, yams, and special leaf eater biscuits made of grain and packed with all the vitamins and minerals pandas need.
     The average panda home range is thought to be approximately 1.9 square miles (5 square kilometers), with male ranges larger than that of females. In areas where food is not plentiful, the home range can be larger.

Image by akahodag via Flickr

Giant Panda enjoying its meal

     A word of caution. While pandas are awesome and cute, it is NEVER safe to be too close to one unless you are a trained professional. They know best when and how to approach and interact with this animal. After all, it is of the bear family and very wild. So as with most animals of the world, it is best to watch from far, and admire in "awwwwwww". Awesome indeed.

     Visit the World Wildlife Fund to help support all animals including the adorable panda.