Editing Red panda (section)

===Diet and feeding===
The red panda is largely herbivorous and feeds primarily on bamboo, mainly the genera ''[[Phyllostachys]]'', ''[[Sinarundinaria]]'', ''Thamnocalamus'' and ''[[Chimonobambusa]]''.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Nijboer, J. |author2=Dierenfeld, E. S. |year=2021 |chapter=Red panda nutrition: how to feed a vegetarian carnivore |title=Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda |editor=Glatston, A. R. |pages=225–238 |edition=Second |publisher=Academic Press |place=London |isbn=978-0-12-823753-3 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> It also feeds on fruits, blossoms, [[acorn]]s, eggs, birds and small mammals. Bamboo leaves may be the most abundant food item year-round and the only food they can access during winter.<ref name="ecology">{{cite book |author1=Wei, F. |author2=Thapa, A. |author3=Hu, Y. |author4=Zhang, Z. |year=2021 |chapter=Red Panda ecology |title=Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda |editor=Glatston, A. R. |pages=329–351 |edition=Second |publisher=Academic Press |place=London |isbn=978-0-12-823753-3 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> In Wolong National Nature Reserve, leaves of the bamboo species ''[[Bashania fangiana]]'' were found in nearly 94 per cent of analysed droppings, and its [[bamboo shoot|shoots]] were found in 59 per cent of the droppings found in June.<ref name="Reid1991"/>

The diet of red pandas monitored at three sites in [[Singalila National Park]] for two years consisted of 40–83 per cent ''[[Yushania maling]]'' and 51–91.2 per cent ''[[Thamnocalamus spathiflorus]]'' bamboos{{efn|''Arundinaria maling'' and ''A. aristata'' referred to in the source have since been reclassified to distinct genera occurring in Asia.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Stapleton, C. M. A. |year=1994 |title=The bamboos of Nepal and Bhutan. Part II: ''Arundinaria'', ''Thamnocalamus'', ''Borinda'', and ''Yushania'' (Gramineae: Poaceae, Bambusoideae) |journal=Edinburgh Journal of Botany |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=275–295 |doi=10.1017/S0960428600000883|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Triplett, J. K. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Clark, L. G. |year=2010 |title=Phylogeny of the temperate bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae) with an emphasis on Arundinaria and allies |journal=Systematic Botany |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=102–120 |doi=10.1600/036364410790862678|bibcode=2010SysBo..35..102T |s2cid=85588401 }}</ref>}} supplemented by bamboo shoots, ''[[Actinidia strigosa]]'' fruits and seasonal berries.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pradhan|first1=S. |last2=Saha |first2=G. K. |last3=Khan|first3=J. A. |year=2001|title=Ecology of the Red Panda ''Ailurus fulgens'' in the Singhalila National Park, Darjeeling, India |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=11–18 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00079-3 |bibcode=2001BCons..98...11P |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> In this national park, red panda droppings also contained remains of [[silky rose]] and [[Rubus|bramble fruit]] species in the summer season, ''[[Actinidia callosa]]'' in the post-monsoon season, and ''[[Merrilliopanax alpinus]]'', the whitebeam species ''[[Sorbus cuspidata]]'' and [[tree rhododendron]] in both seasons. Droppings were found with 23 plant species including the [[stone oak]] species ''[[Lithocarpus pachyphyllus]]'', [[Magnolia campbellii|Campbell's magnolia]], the chinquapin species ''[[Castanopsis tribuloides]]'', Himalayan birch, ''[[Litsea sericea]]'' and the [[holly]] species ''[[Ilex fragilis]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Roka, B. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Jha, A. K. |author3=Chhetri, D. R. |year=2021 |title=A study on plant preferences of Red Panda (''Ailurus fulgens'') in the wild habitat: foundation for the conservation of the species |journal=Acta Biologica Sibirica |volume=7 |pages=425–439 |doi=10.3897/abs.7.e71816 |s2cid=244942192 |url=https://abs.pensoft.net/article/71816/download/pdf/ |access-date=29 January 2022 |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628075846/https://public.pensoft.net/items/?p=7TVeXpoqfNYT89tyrm3ifrTeG9Wv8P676JSQp%2FH2pj9hhtoybol4GF7LEbj3fxHT5Fo8esHsudYAYpBvYRXDagjNH%2F0WB4wgAIotii7Ae3LaW2Fr9Ax1LqaArmQ%3D&n=gxh9ddQ8acsRsM1Z%2BCizLOv1G9aD7qC545Y%3D |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> In Nepal's [[Rara National Park]], ''Thamnocalamus'' was found in all the droppings sampled, both before and after the [[monsoon]].<ref>{{cite journal |name-list-style=amp |last1=Sharma|first1=H. R.|last2=Swenson|first2=J. E. |last3=Belant |first3=J. |year=2014 |title=Seasonal food habits of the Red Panda (''Ailurus fulgens'') in Rara National Park, Nepal |journal=Hystrix |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=47–50 |doi=10.4404/hystrix-25.1-9033}}</ref> Its summer diet in [[Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve]] also includes some lichens and [[Berberis|barberries]].<ref name=Panthi_al2012/> In Bhutan's [[Jigme Dorji National Park]], red panda faeces found in the fruiting season contained seeds of [[Hedera nepalensis|Himalayan ivy]].<ref name=Dendup_al2020/>
[[File:Endangered Red Panda.jpg|thumb|Red panda feeding|alt=Red panda holding onto a plant and eating]]
The red panda grabs food with one of its front paws and usually eats sitting down or standing. When foraging for bamboo, it grabs the plant by the stem and pulls it down towards its jaws. It bites the leaves with the side of the [[cheek teeth]] and then shears, chews and swallows. Smaller food like blossoms, berries and small leaves are eaten differently, being clipped by the incisors.<ref name="roberts+gittleman" /> Having the [[gastrointestinal tract]] of a carnivore, the red panda cannot properly digest bamboo, which passes through its gut in two to four hours. Hence, it must consume large amounts of the most nutritious plant matter. It eats over {{cvt|1.5|kg|lboz}} of fresh leaves or {{cvt|4|kg|lb|0}} of fresh shoots in a day with crude proteins and fats being the most easily digested. Digestion is highest in summer and fall but lowest in winter, and is easier for shoots than leaves.<ref name="wei_1999">{{cite journal |author=Wei, F. |author2=Feng, Z. |author3=Wang, Z. |author4=Zhou, A. |author5=Hu, J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Use of the nutrients in bamboo by the Red Panda ''Ailurus fulgens'' |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=248 |issue=4 |pages=535–541 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb01053.x |date=1999}}</ref> The red panda's [[metabolic rate]] is comparable to other mammals of its size, despite its poor diet.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Fei, Y.|author2=Hou, R.|author3=Spotila, J. R.|author4=Paladino, F. V.|author5=Qi, D.|author6=Zhang, Z. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017|title=Metabolic rate of the Red Panda, ''Ailurus fulgens'', a dietary bamboo specialist|journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=3 |page=e0173274 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0173274 |pmid=28306740|pmc=5356995|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1273274F|doi-access=free}}</ref> The red panda digests almost a third of [[dry matter]], which is more efficient than the giant panda digesting 17 per cent.<ref name="wei_1999"/> Microbes in the gut may aid in its processing of bamboo; the [[microbiota]] community in the red panda is less diverse than in other mammals.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kong, F. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Zhao, J. |author3=Han, S. |author4=Zeng, B. |author5=Yang, J. |author6=Si, X. |author7=Yang, B. |author8=Yang, M. |author9=Xu, H. |author10=Li, Y. |year=2014 |title=Characterization of the gut microbiota in the red panda (''Ailurus fulgens'') |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=9 |issue=2 |page=e87885 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0087885 |pmid=24498390 |pmc=3912123 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...987885K |doi-access=free}}</ref>