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]]> http://www.pluspets.net/cute-animals/feed/ 0 http://www.pluspets.net/cute-bunnies/ http://www.pluspets.net/cute-bunnies/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:51:27 +0000 Plus Pets http://www.pluspets.net/?p=974 Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Cottontail rabbit (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, endangered species on Amami ?shima, Japan). There are many other species of rabbit, and these, along with pikas and hares, make up the order Lagomorpha.

The rabbit lives in many areas around the world. Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit lives in underground burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren.  Meadows, woods, forests, thickets, and grasslands  are areas in which rabbits live.  They also inhabit deserts and wetlands. More than half the world’s rabbit population resides in North America.  They also live in Europe, India, Sumatra, Japan, and parts of Africa. The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world

The rabbit’s long ears, which can be more than 10 cm  long, are probably an adaptation for detecting predators. They have large, powerful hind legs. Each foot has five toes, with one greatly reduced in size. They are digitigrade  animals; they move around on the tips of their toes. Wild rabbits do not differ much in their body proportions or stance, with full, egg-shaped bodies. Their size can range anywhere from 20 cm in length and 0.4 kg in weight to 50 cm and more than 2 kg. The fur is most commonly long and soft, with colors such as shades of brown, gray, and buff. The tail is a little plume of brownish fur (white on top for cottontails)

Endemic to the temperate forests of the Himalayas, the Red Panda ranges from Nepal in the west to China in the east. It is also found in northern India, Bhutan and northern Myanmar. Accurate population figures in the wild are difficult to find, with estimates ranging from 11,000 to 20,000 worldwide. Although it is protected by law in all countries where it lives, its numbers in the wild continue to decline mainly due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression.

The Red Panda is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN red list (2009.01), and is listed in CITES appendix I. It has been previously classified in the families Procyonidae (raccoon) and Ursidae (bears), but recent research has placed it in its own family Ailuridae, in superfamily Musteloidea along with Mustelidae, Procyonidae, and Mephitidae. Two subspecies are recognized.The Red Panda is quite adaptable to living in captivity and is common in zoos worldwide. As of 2006 the international studbook listed more than 800 individuals in zoos and parks around the world.

The head and body of the Red Panda is 56 to 63 cm (22 to 25 in) long, and their tail is 37 to 47 cm (15 to 19 in) long. Males weigh 3.7 to 6.2 kg (8 to 14 lb) and females weigh 4.2 to 6.0 kg (9 to 13 lb).  It has long, soft reddish-brown fur on its upper parts, blackish fur on its lower parts, and a light face with tear markings and robust cranial-dental features. The light face has white badges similar to those of a raccoon, but each individual can have distinctive markings. Its roundish head has medium-sized upright ears, a black nose, and very dark eyes: almost pitch black. Its long bushy tail with six alternating yellowish red transverse ochre rings provides balance and excellent camouflage against its habitat of moss- and lichen-covered trees. The legs are black and short with thick fur on the soles of the paws. This fur serves as thermal insulation on snow-covered or ice surfaces and conceals scent glands which are also present on the anu*.

The Red Panda is specialized as a bamboo feeder with strong, curved and sharp semi-retractile claws standing inward for grasping of narrow tree branches, leaves and fruit. Like the Giant Panda, it has a “false thumb” that is an extension of the wrist bone.

The Red Panda has been reported to be both nocturnal (most active at night) and crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk),  sleeping on tree branches or in tree hollows during the day and increasing its activity only in the late afternoon and early evening hours. It sleeps stretched out on a branch with legs dangling when it is hot, and curled up with its tail over its face when it is cold.  It is very heat sensitive, with an optimal “well-being” temperature between 17 and 25 °C (63 and 77 °F), and cannot tolerate temperatures over 25 °C (77 °F).

Shortly after waking, the Red Panda cleans its fur like a cat, licking its front paws and then rubbing its back, stomach and sides. It also rubs its back and belly along the sides of trees or rocks. Then it patrols its territory, marking it with a weak musk-smelling secetion from its ana* gland and with its urine. It searches for food at night, running along the ground or through the trees. It uses its front paws to place the food into its mouth, and drinks by plunging a paw into the water and then licking the paw.

There are two extant subspecies of Red Panda. The Western Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens F. G. Cuvier, 1825) lives in the western part of its range (Nepal, Assam, Sikkim and Bhutan), and the somewhat larger Styan’s Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens styani  Thomas, 1902]) lives in the east-northeastern part of its range (southern China and northern Myanmar).  The Styan’s Red Panda is supposedly larger and darker in color than its Western cousin, though there is considerable variation in both subspecies, and some individuals may be brown or yellowish brown rather than red.