Although once thought to be related to giant pandas, recent chromosome studies place the red panda in the raccoon family and the giant panda in the bear family. Modern molecular data suggests the raccoon and bear families diverged from a common carnivorous ancestor 35-40 million years ago
Red pandas are small with an overall length of three to three-and-one-half feet and weigh approximately 10 to 12 pounds. On the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the red panda is listed as Endangered. In the wild and in zoos, red pandas can live up to 14 years.
Red pandas are mainly vegetarians and will forage on the ground and in trees. In the wild, they eat fruit, roots, bamboo shoots, acorns, berries and lichens and–at times–insects, mice, birds and bird eggs. The red panda often will sit upright to eat and feed like a squirrel.
