PANDAS ARE NOT JUST BIG BABIES THAT ARE BLACK AND WHITE! :O :O Meet Ailurus fulgens - Red Panda :) Listed as vulnerable. Back in 1996 the Red Panda was listed as endangered. Thankfully conservation efforts are bringing the species back from the brink of extinction.. Native to China, India and Nepal. The distribution of Ailurus fulgens in the wild is poorly known, but its range is known to include Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, and southern China, with a disjunct population on the Meghalaya Plateau of northeastern India. The westernmost limit of this species is from the Annapurana Range in Nepal, and the easternmost is from the Qing Ling Mountains of the Shaanxi Province in China. The distribution range of this species should be considered disjunct, rather than continuous. It is found from the southern part of the Gaoligong Shan on the Myanmar-China border (25ºN), to Minshan Mountains and upper Min Valley. Although Roberts and Gittleman (1984) record it as occurring only above 2,200 m, it can be found from 1,500 to 4,800 m, and on the Meghalaya Plateau it is found from 700 to 1,400 m, sometimes as low as 200 m. Pradhan et al. (2001) found that this species preferred altitudinal range in Singhalila National Park in eastern Himalayas was 2,800 to 3,100 m, and it was relatively more abundant between 2,800 to 3,600 m. In China, the Red Panda is found in the Minshan, Qionglai, Liangshan, Bigger Xiangling, and Lesser Xiangling Mountains in western Sichuan, but former assertions of occurrence in far southern Yunnan, in Xishuangbanna have not been corroborated. It is believed to have gone extinct from the rest of its historical range in China, e.g. Guizhou, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Qinghai provinces. In Myanmar it is known only from the northernmost state, Kachin, and is locally distributed even there. The red panda was reported as occurring in northern Lao PDR by Deuve (1972) (citing Cheminaud 1942), though recent village interviews around Phongsali in 1996 and 2003–2004 yielded no positive indication of its occurrence. Additionally, re-examination of the historical basis for occurrence reveals significant internal inconsistencies and flaws. Hence, there is no evidence that red panda has ever occurred in Lao PDR, although it may still be found to occur there is future surveys.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:54:27 +0000
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