International Red Panda Day is observed on the third Saturday of September this year it falls on September 18 with the aim to raise public awareness and support for red panda conservation issues. International Red Panda Day is dedicated to the red pandas—a mammal species native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China.

Red pandas are facing the threat of extinction due to poaching, habitat destruction, and fragmentation, and inbreeding depression. The exact number of individuals of the species that exist in the wild is not known today, but some estimates report it to be as low as 10,000 mature individuals; therefore the IUCN List classifies it as an ‘endangered species.

International Red Panda Day was launched by the Red Panda Network in 2010. The first international Red Panda day was celebrated on 18th September 2010.

Discovered about 50 years before giant pandas, red pandas are the only species left in the Ailuridae family.

Red pandas are not pandas: Despite having similar names, red pandas and giant pandas are not closely related. Genetically, they are actually closely related to bears, raccoons, and skunks. They are also called the lesser panda, red cat-bear, and red bear-cat.

Genetically the red pandas belong to the order of Carnivora, but mostly eat bamboo shoots, mushrooms, etc, and also eat birds, eggs, and insects.

Occasionally, they supplement their diets with birds, eggs, fishes, small mammals, and insects. They have extremely robust dentition in contrast to other carnivores of their size.

The average lifespan of red pandas is 23 years, but females stop breeding after age 12.