The reddish-orange and white pelage of the red panda provides it camouflage in the reddish-brown moss and white lichens of fir trees.
The reddish-orange pelage of the red panda appears cryptic against the canopy of fir (Abies) trees where branches are covered with clumps of reddish-brown moss (Order Bryales) and white lichens (Usnea).
Readily distinguishable from other Carnivora in coat color, red pandas have a face that is predominantly white with reddish brown “tear” marks extending from the inferior region of the orbit to the corner of the mouth; post-cranial dorsal pelage reddish- or orange-brown and ventral pelage glossy black; legs that are black and the soles of the feet are covered with dense, white hair.
• Image | © Mathias Appel, Public Domain, (CC0 1.0)
• Sources | (Roberts & Gittleman, 1984)
