One hot day in summer at the Toronto Zoo, two species were taking it easy and trying to keep cool. Both of these animals have adapted for living in cold climates.
The Red Panda Bear spends ninety percent of its life in the trees. Usually bamboo trees because they eat about twenty thousand bamboo leaves per day. These two are not so much hiding out as they are hanging out to cool off, chillin’. They hang one leg on each side of the branch, when resting. They are very acrobatic in moving through the trees. Their tail is used for balance not for hanging on.
An adult Red Panda is about the size of a large domestic cat or raccoon, weighing between 6 to 14 pounds (3-6 Kg). Body is 20 to 25 inches long (50-60 cm) plus a tail length of 12 to 20 inches (30-50 cm).
A Red Panda’s lifespan is between eight and ten years. They are gentle and easily tamed but usually do not like to be handled. If you want to cuddle one, buy a cloth one because it is illegal to buy, sell of have them as pets. They are endangered with about only ten thousand known to exist. Their habitat of bamboo forests are being destroyed.
The other animal that is able to live in colder climates is the Camel. Who would have though that when they are usually associated with deserts. They grow a long woollen coat in the late summer to keep them warm through the cold winters then shed it in the spring as you can see in these pictures. The wool is used to make textiles and ropes and carpets.
Bactrian Camels have two humps that store fat providing them with energy and allowing them to go for extended periods without food or water. They weigh up to two thousand two hundred pounds, (1000 Kg.) and are rated as critically endangered in the wild. Domesticated varieties are not endangered and are hybridized with Arabian Camels.
In the video below, three camels are waiting for the food to be delivered. Will it be behind door number one or two or all three? Something must be happening because someone has unplugged the fan and it is slowing down.
I appreciate your blog post to read about these animals. I have only seen a camel in movies. I’ve not seen a red panda yet. Thanks for sharing the photos and video.
Camels have been used as pack animals to carry things to many parts of the world. Although they are still used in the desert areas they are being replaced by small four wheel drive trucks. Toyotas are becoming more popular now. The camels are being released to live on their own and seem to be doing quite well.
I had my first and only camel ride in Australia.
A camel with two humps? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before! That’s crazy. And I can’t imagine having to eat 20,000 bamboo leaves in one day. That’s a lot of leaves!!
The one hump camel is called a Dromedary Camel. 🐪
The two hump camel is a Bacterian Camel. 🐫
To help remember which is which, turn the D and B sideways to get one hump or two humps. 🙃🤣
i did not know there are red pandas!! So cool!
They are also called lesser pandas because they are smaller than the great pandas. 🐼
Love this, Doug! Red Pandas hanging out to chill and camels growing cozy winter coats; who knew both could handle the cold in such different ways? I actually visited Zurich Zoo this spring and encountered an elusive red panda, hiding up in a tree just like in Toronto. That’s why I had to buy the stuffed animal version to take home with me!
I was reluctant to us the words “stuffed animal” for a cuddly toy in my post because it makes me think of a stuffed turkey or chicken or duck.
Thanksgiving celebrations are coming up in the US and have just passed in Canada. 🤪🥴
Pandas are cute but I can’t say the same for camels. They are not very pretty, especially without their winter coat.
I wonder how camels would survive a winter in Saskatchewan.
I was visiting the Cincinnati Zoo in February several years ago and was surprised to see a lion laying in a snowbank. I don’t think they are exposed to those types of conditions in the wild. Like your camel and Red Panda, it too seems to have found a way to adapt to the colder weather.