WNC Nature Center Spotlight Feature April 27, 2020

Each species found at the WNC Nature Center has its own unique story. Most of the individual animals at the Nature Center have been imprinted, meaning they have no fear of humans and never learned the skills they would need to survive in the wild, or permanently injured. Others have never known a life in the wild.
This page will give you a look into the lives and personalities of each animal found at the Center. You will find pictures of wildlife with their common name and Latin names, a brief natural history of each species, pictures of the wildlife at the WNC Nature Center, and information specific to the animals living at the WNC Nature Center.
Red Panda

Ailurus fulgens 

Red pandas are bamboo eaters native to Asia's forest. These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft. The red panda is an endangered species with less than 10,000 (possibly as few as 2,500) of them in the wild. Their natural space is shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed by logging and the spread of agriculture. The red panda's ancient cousin once lived in the Western North Carolina region. Bristol's Panda (Pristinailurus bristoli) is an ancient North American relative of the living red panda whose fossils have been discovered at the Gray Fossil Site in the Southern Appalachian Mountains for Tennessee. Western North Carolina's climate and ecosystem is almost identical to the lower mountain forests of Central Asia where red pandas currently live.
Did you know you can sign up for a news letter, membership, even "adopt' an animal? Check out the link below for all that, so much more information and fun!