The red panda is dwarfed by the black-and-white giant that shares its name. These pandas typically grow to the size of a house cat, though their big, bushy tails add an additional 18 inches. The pandas use their ringed tails as wraparound blankets in the chilly mountain heights. Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar, as well as in central China. These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft. When foraging, they are most active at night as well as in the gloaming hours of dusk and dawn. Red pandas have a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many other foods as well—fruit, acorns, roots, and eggs. Like giant pandas, they have an extended wrist bone that functions almost like a thumb and greatly aids their grip. They are shy and solitary except when mating. Females give birth in the spring and summer, typically to one to four young. Young red pandas remain in their nests for about 90 days, during which time their mother cares for them. Red pandas are endangered, victims of deforestation. Their natural space is shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed by logging and the spread of agriculture. Red pandas primarily eat bamboo leaves and fresh shoots, as well as berries, blossoms, bird eggs, and various plants' small leaves. The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body and thick russet fur. The belly and limbs are black, and there are white markings on the side of the head and above its small eyes. They use their long, bushy tails for balance and to cover themselves in winter, presumably for warmth.
Bibliography: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-panda/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/red-panda
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/red-panda