Red pandas are a small arboreal mammal found in the montane forests of the Himalayas and major mountain ranges of southwestern China (Nepal, India, Bhutan, China and Myanmar). These strange carnivores have formidable teeth and a pseudo thumb that they use to consume a diet of mostly bamboo. Their striking red, white and black fur helps them to camouflage in the shadowed nooks of the trees amongst reddish moss and white lichens.
There are two recognized species. Himalayan red pandas, ailurus fulgens (at the Oregon Zoo) are found in the western range (India, Nepal, Myanmar) and are smaller with lighter fur. Chinese red pandas, ailurus styani, are found in the eastern range (China) and are larger with darker fur.