Same as their name-sake, the giant pandas, red pandas gain pleasure in sleeping and eating bamboo. They are mostly found in Central China and the mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar. A few days ago, I saw an interesting documentary on where and how foxes sleep in the wild. Then it crossed my mind that, where do red pandas sleep?
Here’s the answer I found – Usually, the red pandas spend most of their time sleeping on trees as long as it is comfortable.
Nature has made this easy for them with sharp claws that can hold branches and long tails for maintaining balance. Moreover, red pandas can be described as arboreal animals which means they spend the majority of their lives on trees.
No doubt, you’ll agree with me that red pandas have a lazy lifestyle of sleeping and eating. Some animals are just luckier than others, right?
Come to think of it, can these red cat-bears sleep somewhere else besides trees? Do red pandas sleep in dens?
Get comfortable, and keep reading to learn something new about red pandas!
Do Red Pandas Sleep In Den?
Yes, but not all the time. Usually, it is the female red pandas that sleep in dens with their babies until they are free to live on their own. Most times, adult male red pandas don’t take a nap in dens. The female red pandas’ pregnancy period is between 114 to 145 days.
However, the days can be less (90days) or longer (150 days). One surprising thing about the mother fox bears is that they always build dens before the arrival of their babies. In addition to this, the females line the place with tree branches, leaves, grass twigs, and moss to make their babies comfortable after birth.
Under normal circumstances, the mother red pandas don’t rest in dens but only do that just to take care of their cubs for close to 90 days.
Do Red Pandas Sleep In Caves?
Yes, red pandas sleep in caves just like they sleep on trees, especially during winter. As a form of protection, the mother red pandas sometimes keep their young in caves until the cubs can take care of themselves.
Instead of sleeping in caves, the adult male pandas prefer laying on trees throughout the day and coming down only once in a while.
Do Red Pandas Like To Sleep?
Yes, red pandas enjoy spending all day sleeping on tree branches in their various habitats. And whenever they are not laying on trees, the fox bears are always eating bamboo. That’s how they live their entire life – sleeping and eating.
There’s a general belief that the bamboo diet contains a small number of nutrients. Maybe this is the reason the red pandas don’t perform other activities like other animals.
Note that the giant pandas also share similar behaviors with the red pandas.
How Often Do Red Pandas Sleep?
Red pandas sleep as many times as possible every day, so it is difficult to determine the exact number of times they do so. We can say the animals live a boring life because besides changing sleeping positions on trees, they only eat. Other animals that share almost the same lifestyle as the red pandas are the giant pandas.
When Do Red Pandas Sleep?
Unlike most animals, the red pandas slumber during the day and move around at night till daybreak. No wonder the red cat-bears do nothing in the daytime other than to sleep on trees and eat bamboo, flowers, eggs, small mammals, and more.
And being solitary animals, they don’t play with one another in their different habitats, except during the mating period.
How Many Hours Do Red Pandas Sleep?
On average, red pandas can sleep for almost 10 hours a day. Nevertheless, they wake up every 2 to 3 hours to eat then sleep again. Sometimes, the number of hours can be longer or shorter depending on the weather, how comfortable their habitat is, and food availability.
How Do Red Pandas Sleep?
Often, a red panda will climb a comfortable tree with its retractable claws and sleep with its stomach facing the ground. With its long tail, the fox bear balances well on the tree to avoid falling or stumbling when jumping from one tree to another. During the winter months, the red pandas wrap their long tails around themselves for warmth while sleeping on trees.
When on branches, it may look as though the red pandas will fall anytime soon, but this is not possible. Their claws and tails have been designed by nature to help them sleep in trees easily.
Final Thoughts
Now, we have come to the conclusion of this article. But before you leave, keep these few points in mind.
Red pandas enjoy sleeping mostly on trees throughout their lives. However, they can sleep in dens and caves, especially the mother red pandas.
Also, red pandas are usually lazy during the day but active at night, looking for food and hiding from predators.
Finally, the red cat-bears can sleep for 10 hours just hanging on a tree with their stomachs facing downwards and tails around them to maintain balance.
I hope you learned something new from this article? Kindly share it with friends!
Are you a panda lover? Click here to learn more about the interesting life of pandas.
