“Q: Legit question but what’s your opinion of red pandas? I get everything on giant pandas but what about red ones?”
I am a very sleepy biologist right now, so to summarize my feelings on red pandas:
More closely related to mustelids (weasels and co.), procyonids (raccoons, and every version of long raccoons ever), and mephitids (skunks), than to bears (10/10)
Are the only living representative of their family Ailuridae, which makes them more interesting than your boring ol’ regular giant panda in terms of phylogenetic diversity (11/10)
Have the same weirdo bamboo-eating niche that giant pandas do (with similarly terrible anatomical functionality - 0/10 for that one, Ailurus), but also substitute their diet with lots of other things (5.8/10)
Breed very easily in captivity unlike the bear who shall not be named
(8 000 000/10)Endangered, highly fragmented population due to deforestation, poachers, exotic pet trade, bush meat demands, human encroachment, canine distemper disease from those encroaching humans with dogs, etc. (:( /10)
ARE NOT A VAST, EMPTY VOID OF CONSERVATION MONEY-SUCKING ANNIHILATION (∞/10)
Like, 400% cuter than giant pandas. Come on. (400/10)
FINAL TALLY: Yes / 10
Jokes aside, my main problem with giant pandas is and forever will be that there is so much money being poured into their conservation, with very little to show for it. Nothing else even comes close to it. There is an entire economy based around renting out giant pandas to foreign countries.
Yes, red pandas are just another adorable mammal that people care about for their looks alone, but at least they aren’t giant pandas.
[[SOURCES]]
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/714/0