Red pandas are not closely related to giant pandas, and although their name and diet may be similar, the two species are quite distinct. Here are a few facts to illustrate red pandas’ status:
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Red pandas have their own family, Ailuridae. Giant pandas are part of the bear family, Ursidae. So why do they share a name and so many common characteristics? This is a consequence of their shared environment and convergent evolution, the process by which two unrelated species develop similar traits to adjust to a similar environment. To meet the specific needs of their shared diet of bamboo, for example, both species’ front wrist bones are elongated and modified to act as “false thumbs.”
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Red pandas are older relative to their better-known namesake than many people might realize. They branched off from their closest relatives, a group of small carnivorous animals, about 43 million years ago, while giant pandas developed as a separate species only eight million years ago.
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Chinese legend claims that red pandas were the first pandas. In a huge attempt by the creator to create a creature that was proud to be both a panda and a raccoon, the rest of the animal failed to notice, with the result that the two existing versions, red and giant, were equally determined to continue being pandas.