This is Yukiko. He is the male Chinese Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens refulgens) on exhibit and his name means snow child in Japanese. Red Pandas live in the Himalayas and the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan at elevations of 7,200 ft to 16,000 ft. Excellent climbers, Red Pandas have a specialized wrist bone that acts as a sort of thumb to assist in climbing and grasping bamboo. Tails are used for balance when climbing and to cover their faces when sleeping. Red Pandas eat bamboo, grasses, roots, acorns, berries and occasionally insects, eggs and small birds or rodents. The Red River Zoo has received national recognition for our conservation of this species. We have bred over 1/4th of the captive population in North America.