International Red Panda Day 2026 Observed on September 19: Key Facts and Significance

Key facts

• International Red Panda Day 2026 falls on September 19, observed annually on the third Saturday of September.
• The day was started by the Red Panda Network, a non-profit conserving wild red pandas and their habitat across Nepal and the Eastern Himalayas.
• Red pandas are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with experts estimating fewer than 10,000 remain in the wild.
• Red pandas live in the temperate forests of the Eastern Himalayas, across Nepal, Bhutan, northeastern India, Myanmar, and parts of southern China.
• In India, red pandas are found mainly in Sikkim, the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh; Sikkim has named the red panda its state animal.
• Bamboo makes up 85-90% of a red panda's diet, though the species belongs to the order Carnivora.
• Red pandas belong to their own unique family, Ailuridae, and are not closely related to giant pandas or bears.
• Red pandas rest for up to 13 hours a day and can climb down trees headfirst using semi-retractable claws and flexible ankles.
• The Firefox browser's name and logo were inspired by the red panda, which is sometimes nicknamed the 'firefox'.
• World Panda Day honours giant pandas on March 16, separate from International Red Panda Day.
• Natural predators of red pandas include snow leopards, martens, and birds of prey, and baby red pandas are called cubs, usually born in litters of one to four.