The Red Panda has been associated with The Cotswold Wildlife Park for many years. Red Panda’s live in the bamboo forests of Central Asia & feed on bamboo shoots & leaves, fruit, berries and the occasional small mammal or bird. The Latin name for the Red Panda is “Ailurus fulgens”, which means “glowing cat” surely the perfect description for this beautiful animal.
Despite the name, and the reasonably similar habits, the Red Panda is not closely related to the Giant Panda (which is a bear) and is actually very closely allied to racoon family.
At The Cotswold Wildlife Park the resident pair of Red Panda’s can be seen exploring the tree tops of their spacious enclosure & you may even be lucky enough to see them come to the ground to make a meal of the bamboo placed around the exhibit by their keepers. They aren’t great fans of the warm weather and much prefer the sub zero temperatures of winter. That is when Red Pandas really come to life – their dense coats providing insulation on even the coldest day.
COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK & GARDENS
Burford, Oxon OX18 4JP. Tel: 01993-823006
www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk
