* Climbing: Red pandas are adept climbers, thanks to their sharp claws and flexible ankles. They use their claws to grip onto branches and their ankles to rotate their feet, allowing them to move both forwards and backwards.
* Walking: While they can walk on all fours, red pandas often walk on the soles of their feet like bears, with their paws slightly turned outwards. This gives them a distinctive, "plantigrade" gait.
* Leaping: They can jump from branch to branch, but their leaps are usually short and controlled.
* Descending: When descending trees, red pandas use a "head-first" technique, relying on their sharp claws to grip the bark as they slowly back down.
Their unique movement style is also evident in their prehensile tail. This long, bushy tail is not just for show; it acts as a counterbalance when they climb and a balancing aid when they walk on branches.
Red pandas, despite their name, are not closely related to giant pandas. They are more closely related to weasels, badgers, and raccoons! Their unique movement abilities reflect their adaptations for surviving in the high-altitude forests of the Himalayas, where they are primarily arboreal (tree-dwelling).