red panda

noun

Definition of red panda

: a small, largely arboreal mammal (Ailurus fulgens of the family Ailuridae) that resembles the American raccoon, that is found from the Himalayas to China, and that has long rusty or chestnut fur with dark underparts, a long bushy tail with rings, and a white face and inner ears with a dark stripe from the corners of the eyes to the lower jaw

— called also lesser panda

Note: The red panda feeds mostly on bamboo, roots, grass, leaves, fruit, acorns, eggs, insects, and small animals (such as birds). It was formerly considered a relative of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) but is now considered more closely related to the raccoons, skunks, and weasels.

Examples of red panda in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There's a lemur that looks like a cross between a teddy bear and red panda and hops between trees like a kangaroo. — Sarah Bowman, Indianapolis Star, "Russ Mittermeier discovers 18 new species and travels to more than 170 countries," 8 June 2018 The twins, both female, weighed 5 ounces and were born blind, which is usual for red pandas. — Agueda Pacheco-flores, The Seattle Times, "Woodland Park Zoo offers early peek at newborn red pandas," 26 June 2018 Two red pandas at the Woodland Park Zoo became parents last week with the birth of twin cubs. — Agueda Pacheco-flores, The Seattle Times, "Woodland Park Zoo offers early peek at newborn red pandas," 26 June 2018 Hoppy, the male red panda who is now 3 years old, taught Dr. Ebina different lessons. — Karen Weintraub, New York Times, "Doctor, Your Patient Is Waiting. It’s a Red Panda.," 29 June 2018 In the latter half of the season, Retsuko meets Resasuke, a red panda from her office. — Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge, "Netflix’s Aggretsuko has a surprising lesson about love," 4 May 2018 Netflix’s Aggretsuko has already proved to be more than a cute animated show capitalizing on the popularity of Sanrio’s all-too-relatable red panda, Retsuko. — Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge, "Netflix’s Aggretsuko has a surprising lesson about love," 4 May 2018 Midway through the first episode of Aggretsuko, Netflix and Sanrio’s new animated series, now streaming on Netflix, the main character, Retsuko, a red panda, has a complete breakdown. — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, "Aggretsuko on Netflix: Adorable Anime, or Subversive Millennial Messaging?," 1 May 2018 Aggressive Retsuko Retsuko is a 25-year-old anthropomorphized red panda, who works in an accounting department as an administrative assistant. — Michael Moore, The Verge, "Eight new anime shows to watch this spring," 30 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'red panda.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.