The red panda is related to the order of Carnivores and today is classified in its own family, related to the raccoon, although in the past, it was related to the bear.

Most of the red panda’s activity is within trees, and it reduces its movement on the ground to a minimum. Mating takes place mainly at the beginning of winter, with birth taking place in spring and summer. Gestation lasts for 134 days, and birth of one to four cubs takes place in the nest, which is built in a tree hollow or a trench within a stone. The offspring remain with the mother until the next birth, and the father does not take part in raising the offspring. Life expectancy of the red panda is eight to ten years, although some live to fourteen years.

Red pandas groom themselves in an organized fashion, like cats, by licking all parts of their bodies and washing their faces with their paws. The natural predator of the red panda is the snow leopard.

The red panda exhibit is a 2005 gift of the Zoo Friends organization.

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