Red Panda

Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda provides a broad-based overview of the biology of the red panda, Ailurus fulgens. A carnivore that feeds almost entirely on vegetable material and is colored chestnut red, chocolate brown and cream rather than the expected black and white. This book gathers all the information that is available on the red panda both from the field and captivity as well as from cultural aspects, and attempts to answer that most fundamental of questions, "What is a red panda?" Scientists have long focused on the red panda's controversial taxonomy. Is it in fact an Old World procyonid, a very strange bear or simply a panda? All of these hypotheses are addressed in an attempt to classify a unique species and provide an in-depth look at the scientific and conservation-based issues urgently facing the red panda today.

Red Panda not only presents an overview of the current state of our knowledge about this intriguing species but it is also intended to bring the red panda out of obscurity and into the spotlight of public attention.

Autorentext

Angela Glatston is the Curator of Mammals and Conservation Coordinator of the Rotterdam Zoo, The Net

Klappentext

Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda provides a broad-based overview of the biology of the red panda, Ailurus fulgens, a carnivore that feeds almost entirely on vegetable material and is colored chestnut red, chocolate brown and cream rather than the expected black and white. This book gathers all the information that is available on the red panda both from the field and captivity as well as from cultural aspects, and attempts to answer that most fundamental of questions, "What is a red panda?" Scientists have long focused on the red panda s controversial taxonomy. Is it in fact an Old World procyonid, a very strange bear or simply a panda? All of these hypotheses are addressed in an attempt to classify a unique species and provide an in-depth look at the scientific and conservation-based issues urgently facing the red panda today. Red Panda not only presents an overview of the current state of our knowledge about this intriguing species but it is also intended to bring the red panda out of obscurity and into the spotlight of public attention.

Zusammenfassung
Provides a broad-based overview of the biology of the red panda, Ailurus fulgens. This book gathers the information on the red panda both from the field and captivity as well as from cultural aspects, and attempts to answer that most fundamental of questions, 'What is a red panda?'

Inhalt

1. Introduction -- 2. Red Pandas and Culture -- 3. Evolution -- 4. Red Panda Taxonomy -- 5. Sub-speciation -- 6. Behavior -- 7. Reproduction -- 8. Ecology -- 9. History in Captivity -- 10. Caring for Red Pandas -- 11. Nutrition -- 12. Clinical Care -- 13. Pathology -- 14. Red Pandas in Zoos Today -- 15. Master Planning for Zoo Pandas -- 16. Red Pandas in the Wild -- 17. Some Like it Hot - Warm Climate Pandas -- 18. Current Conservation Initiatives -- 19. Back to Their Roots (Reintroduction and Restocking) -- 20. Conclusion