Jim Mcmahon/Mapman
High up in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains live some of the world’s most elusive creatures: red pandas. These cat-sized mammals are also endangered, with fewer than 10,000 left in the wild.
Red pandas have fiery fur and big, bushy tails. They live mostly in trees, where their color helps them hide from predators—and from scientists. “That has limited our ability to observe them in the wild,” says biologist Elizabeth Freeman.
Freeman works at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia. Scientists there breed red pandas and help raise their young. They hope what they learn about red pandas will help save the species.
Red pandas are some of the world’s most elusive creatures. They live in remote parts of the Himalayan mountains. They’re only about the size of a house cat. These small mammals are also endangered. Fewer than 10,000 are left in the wild.
Red pandas have rust-colored fur and big, bushy tails. They live mostly in trees. Their color helps them hide from predators. But it also conceals them from scientists. “That has limited our ability to observe them in the wild,” says Elizabeth Freeman. She’s a biologist who studies red pandas.
Freeman works at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia. Scientists there breed red pandas and help raise their cubs. They hope to save wild red pandas by learning more about the species.