Chang Tan the Red Panda! [YouTube Video]
Friday was my birthday (Woooooh! I'm officially old now.) and to celebrate I did what any normal person would do…. I went to the Vilas Zoo in Madison, WI to see Chang Tan the Red Panda! I've posted about Chang Tan before… he's about as awesome as an animal can get.
I took this video of him climbing around in his home. Unfortunately it artifacts quite badly in a few spots.
Tags: birthday, chang tan, Henry Vilas Zoo, red panda, video, Vilas Zoo, youtube
kim said,
YAY Chang Tan! He's the best!!! 🙂 I wish he would have done something exciting outside, that'd be even better.
March 30, 2010 @ 12:08 pm
Cactus Joe said,
Red pandas look like raccoons.
That's cool because I always read that pandas are closer to raccoons than bears, and so the red panda is kind of the "missing link" that helps me to conceptualize that better.
I am such a biology geek.
Joe
March 30, 2010 @ 1:40 pm
sparx said,
Actually, red pandas are not related to pandas. They are closer to raccoons, but still distant relatives.
Red Pandas belong to the Ailuridae family. They are the only non-extinct members of this family.
Wikipedia says they are members of the Musteloidea superfamily (which includes raccoons and skunks) which shares a common ancestor with ursoids (which includes bears).
So, they're sort of like a cousin to raccoons, and maybe a second-cousin once-removed to the giant panda.
March 30, 2010 @ 1:53 pm
Tom said,
I would like to officially nominate this as "Post of the Year". I would also like to officially declare my love for Chang Tan the Red Panda. He rules!!
March 30, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
spudart said,
Red Pandas are like raccoons? Whoaaaaaaa. I like red pandas. I don't really like raccoons. I feel at odds. Does this discovery of Red Pandas being like raccoons make me like raccoons more or like red pandas less?
I would say since my love for Red Pandas is great, it far outweights my non-love for raccoons. So it would have be deemed that now I know like raccoons a little bit more.
April 1, 2010 @ 1:16 pm