By Chuan-X Panda
Published: Aug. 10, 2025 09:50 AM
Can you buy a red panda?
The red panda has a chubby face, white eyebrows and facial hair, iconic ear hair, reddish brown fur, and thick, short limbs. When facing danger, red pandas will stand on both feet and open their arms as a warning, but this behavior is often misunderstood as "cute" and is actually more likable.
So cute the red panda is, can individuals raise it? Can red pandas be pets? How to buy red panda? How much is a red panda?
The red panda looks like a cat, with a body length of about 40-63 centimeters and a weight of about 5 kilograms, equivalent to a larger orange cat. In terms of size and weight, they should be more suitable as pets than giant pandas.
However, buying and selling red pandas around the world is prohibited. Red pandas are protected by the Washington Convention and are classified as Vulnerable (VU), meaning international trade in red pandas is prohibited.
How to legally adopt red pandas?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
1 Is it legal to keep a red panda as a pet?
In most countries, private breeding of red pandas requires special permits, only when employed by scientific research or conservation institutions.
2. What is the annual cost of raising a red panda?
Including food, habitat maintenance, and healthcare, the estimated cost is $20000 to $50000 per year.
Complete adoption and protection guidelines. Two basic steps are required:
- Contact the authorized protection organization.
- Follow legal procedures (it usually takes a considerable amount of time).
According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the giant pandas of the Pandaceae family, which are classified as carnivorous species:
- Prohibit commercial trade (but may be for scientific research, education, or non-commercial protection purposes, and hold a dual license from the importing and exporting country).
- Must have a license issued by CITES.
The cost of raising red pandas
1. High food costs: Red pandas belong to the family Ailuropoda and the genus Ailuropoda. Like giant pandas, they like to eat bamboo shoots, tender branches, and leaves of arrow bamboo, and have high requirements for ingredients. In addition to bamboo leaves and shoots, red pandas also like to eat berries, bird eggs, insects, and even small mammals as their food. In addition, red pandas like three types of sugars: Aspergillus niger, sucralose, and aspartame. Those various foods cost a lot of money.
2. Spacious living environment: Red pandas are gray when they are young. They open their eyes about 18 days after birth, start weaning after three months, and reach adulthood at the age of one and a half. Although red pandas have a clever and gentle personality, love to clean, defecate at fixed locations, use their palms to rub their faces or lick the edges of their mouths clean after eating, love to clean, wash their hands and faces after meals, their claws are longer than cats, can scratch the sofa, and even scratch the human. They also mark territory like many mammals, releasing irritating gases from their anal glands, which can make your house stinky. Moreover, red pandas are native to Asian regions such as China, Myanmar, and Nepal, and mostly inhabit forests with abundant rainfall and towering trees. This ecological environment is difficult for individuals to replicate. Click on the link to view the natural habitat of Nepalese red pandas.
At present, red pandas are only distributed in the southern foot of the Himalayas. In China, wild red pandas are only distributed in Sichuan, Yunnan and Xizang provinces. It is estimated that the population of red pandas worldwide is between 16000 and 20000. As the main distribution country of red pandas, China has about 6000-7000 red pandas, and the number of red pandas in Sichuan ranges from 3000-3400, accounting for half of the total number of red pandas in China..
Alternatives to real red panda
While it's difficult to obtain a real red panda, there are feasible alternatives to enjoy them.
1. Virtual Adoption: Watch red panda livestreams, donate food and money, and personally witness their growth.
2. Buy red panda plush toys: You can visit online panda plush shops or the official store of a red panda zoo to purchase various red panda plushies. Examples include small red panda keychains (to hang on your bag – a walking red panda!), life-sized realistic plush toys that recreate their actual size, or giant red panda plushies offering a big, warm hug.
