Showing posts with label bamboo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bamboo. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Getting A Grasp On The Red Panda's Wrist

The red panda has a modified wrist bone that acts as a sixth digit or thumb.

 Picture from Ingrid Vekemans

It shares this trait with the Giant Panda, both of whom are big bamboo eaters.  The modified wrist bone is what allows them to hold onto the bamboo while chewing it.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Red Panda's Picky Diet

 This rare animals is a picky eater due to it's inability to digest cellulose.


The red panda mainly eats bamboo and will spend up to 13 hours a day searching for and eating bamboo. The red panda only eats the young, tender shoots and leaves. They will also eat fruit, berries, blossoms, insects, and bird eggs.