National Geographic Kids

A red panda in the grass.

With their fiery fur and playful antics, red pandas charm animal lovers around the globe. But beneath their cute appearance lies a harsh reality because these creatures are fighting for survival.

According to an article by Clara Steel Miguelez, “red pandas are small pandas that are known as the lesser panda and it is currently endangered.” They are mammals and as of 2024 there are only 100,000 red pandas left in the wild, which sounds like a lot but it is not.

According to an article by Steve Russel on environment.co, “Some of the reasons they are endangered is because they get hunted and poached. They also lose their habitat because they have such specific habitat requirements so if there’s any disturbance to their habitat their habitat space can shrink dramatically.”

According to an article by Mary Jo DiLonardo on treehugger.com, “98% of red pandas’ diet is bamboo but sometimes if they have nothing else to eat they will eat other stuff like roots, acorns, grass, fruits, eggs, birds, insects and also small animals.”

Diego Cortez, an eighth-grader at AJMS, expressed his concern, saying, “It’s kinda sad because they are fluffy, kinda like dogs so they should be treated like one as well, like giving them food, shelter, water and people to look after them.”

Another AJMS student named Irvin De Jesus said, “It’s quite sad that we are killing animals because they are cute and fluffy.”

AJMS student Amaurie Poventud said, “I used to like pandas a lot but red pandas are different and they are kinda cute but I do think it’s sad they are going extinct so hopefully, they don’t extinct.”

It is sad that they are currently endangered but there are ways we can help red pandas. Some ways we can help red pandas are by helping raise money for wildlife groups that are focusing on red pandas. Another way to help these furry creatures is by spreading awareness like telling family, friends or even teachers. You can also do simple things like not supporting illegal pet trading because there are poachers that take them in the wild.

The good thing is that public awareness about red pandas is slowly rising on social media so that means there’s still hope for red pandas.

I think if everyone worked together we can make the red pandas no longer endangered and even help other animals that are endangered.