# The Life of a Red Panda



## Mattis

Get up



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr

Eat



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr

Be cute



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr

Back to bed



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr

Best job ever! Except for the whole being an endangered species part... :c


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## shelby16

Love #3!


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## C. Brian Kerr

Agree on #3 for the win.  How did you get him to stick his tongue out at you !


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## BillM

I never knew I was a Red Panda !!!!!!

Nice shots


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## Mattis

shelby16 said:


> Love #3!


Thanks!



C. Brian Kerr said:


> Agree on #3 for the win.  How did you get him to stick his tongue out at you !


That's just what _she_ does, she's a cheeky little bugger^^



BillM said:


> I never knew I was a Red Panda !!!!!!
> 
> Nice shots


I think we are all red pandas some times 
And thanks a lot!


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## goooner

Great shots. Which zoo was this? I normally just see them sleeping


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## Mattis

goooner said:


> Great shots. Which zoo was this? I normally just see them sleeping


The zoo in Duisburg, Germany. 
And yeah, they sleep a LOT. Try to get there early and be patient. I stood there for a total of about two hours. 
Also, try to find out the times when they are being fed. They will be awake then for sure!  Good luck ^^


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## goooner

Mattis said:


> goooner said:
> 
> 
> 
> Great shots. Which zoo was this? I normally just see them sleeping
> 
> 
> 
> The zoo in Duisburg, Germany.
> And yeah, they sleep a LOT. Try to get there early and be patient. I stood there for a total of about two hours.
> Also, try to find out the times when they are being fed. They will be awake then for sure!  Good luck ^^
Click to expand...

I have one or 2 shots with their eyes open, I posted one in this thread:
Zurich zoo Photography Forum

I normally go to zoos with my gf, and I can't see her waiting around for 2 hours for these guys to open their eyes


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## Allenkerky

Beautiful animal. Great pictures too! The eyes especially stick out to me


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## Mattis

Allenkerky said:


> Beautiful animal. Great pictures too! The eyes especially stick out to me


They really are beautiful and absolutely adorable. I just love these little fellas, I've always had a softspot for cute critters.



goooner said:


> I have one or 2 shots with their eyes open, I posted one in this thread:
> Zurich zoo Photography Forum
> 
> I normally go to zoos with my gf, and I can't see her waiting around for 2 hours for these guys to open their eyes


Sorry if this sounds a little bitter, but that is kind of why I love being single right now XD Love and affection are great and all, but being able to do what ever I want at all times is pretty damn neato.
And those are some very cool shots you have there! And don't worry about cutting his tail off a little. I find that they are very difficult to capture whole, which is why I like to emphasize their cute faces when they are close. When they are a little further away capturing their whole body gets relatively easy. And when you are lucky they are just lying around but awake, looking right at you. That's how I some times see her in the morning.


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## Rick50

Love the Red Panda. Got a few good shots myself and good job.


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## Mattis

Rick50 said:


> Love the Red Panda. Got a few good shots myself and good job.


Thanks a lot^^

Funny story about her, when she was being fed at 2pm she went up to her bowl and took a dump into it...
This was her expression while the zoo keeper was cleaning it and preparing new food for her:



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr


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## goooner

Mattis said:


> Sorry if this sounds a little bitter, but that is kind of why I love being single right now XD Love and affection are great and all, but being able to do what ever I want at all times is pretty damn neato.
> And those are some very cool shots you have there! And don't worry about cutting his tail off a little. I find that they are very difficult to capture whole, which is why I like to emphasize their cute faces when they are close. When they are a little further away capturing their whole body gets relatively easy. And when you are lucky they are just lying around but awake, looking right at you. That's how I some times see her in the morning.



Well it does help if your gf is the director of the local zoo  I've not been behind the scenes yet, but if they need some photos for the zoo they know who to call-lol


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## Mattis

goooner said:


> Well it does help if your gf is the director of the local zoo  I've not been behind the scenes yet, but if they need some photos for the zoo they know who to call-lol


Now THAT sounds like a perk! :O If I had a girlfriend and she was the director of the zoo where I took these shots I would probably spend all day in the lemur enclosure and pet them so much it wouldn't even be funny anymore.


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## Mattis

Took some more shots of her yesterday:




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr

I cheated a little with these three though. They work well together as a set (her getting up) but the third one was taken half an hour before the other two ;P


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## limr

Love 'em! Beautiful shots, and she's too cute for words


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## elizpage

Wow, these are fantastic. I love the expressions on her face! Captured it so wonderfully :3


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## Mattis

limr said:


> Love 'em! Beautiful shots, and she's too cute for words





elizpage said:


> Wow, these are fantastic. I love the expressions on her face! Captured it so wonderfully :3



Thanks you two! She really is absolutely adorable^^ I hope she gets a partner soon, she is on the waiting list right now. I don't think I could handle twice the cuteness!


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## Mattis

Here are some more:




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr

The shots in this thread are all of the same panda by the way. This thread is all about her :3


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## limr

Aw, she's looking a little emo in that last set, poor little panda


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## Mattis

limr said:


> Aw, she's looking a little emo in that last set, poor little panda


She was just exhausted, being cute all day is a tough job! 

Is this better?



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, on Flickr


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## limr

Oh, emo isn't bad - sometimes a girl just gets sad, y'know?  And it's just as cute, if not cuter. But yes, that last picture shows a happy panda!


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## Mattis

limr said:


> Oh, emo isn't bad - sometimes a girl just gets sad, y'know?  And it's just as cute, if not cuter. But yes, that last picture shows a happy panda!


Overall she doesn't strike me as sad. She runs and climbs around a lot, munches on her bamboo and sleeps a lot. But I bet it would be even better for her if she got a partner!
And if she was sad, that's still an emotion that you can capture, right? 

Yeah, after munching on a baby chicken every panda is happy XD


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## Mattis

Got another one from yesterday:




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

Not emo, just being lazy after lunch :3


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## Mattis

And a new one:



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

And one from yesterday that isn't on Flickr yet:





Poor little gal, it was raining quite a bit in the morning :c


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## baturn

another great thread that I seem to have missed. I obviously need to spend more time on the forum.


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## Mattis

baturn said:


> another great thread that I seem to have missed. I obviously need to spend more time on the forum.


Thanks again!


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## Mattis

Got a new one for you.




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

They placed her food differently this time so she got a lot closer to us!


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## annamaria

Nice shots! The last one is adorable!


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## elrick

Beautiful creature  I like them from first sight in Central Park Zoo, NY


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## Mattis

annamaria said:


> Nice shots! The last one is adorable!



Thank you! Yeah, I'm happy about that last one as well. Could be sharper, but she is just so adorable and happy in it^^ They moved her food closer to us that day during feeding time, somehow that got her really excited! She is a little shy but generally pretty curious about what's going on around her.



elrick said:


> Beautiful creature  I like them from first sight in Central Park Zoo, NY


They really are beautiful critters. But they are still hunters, you should see her when small birds come into her enclosure! She doesn't actually catch them but it does get her really excited.
They did give her a dead chick once though and she completely tore it apart.

Here's another one:



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

And this one is now the title image of the Facebook group of the Red Panda Network, a charity organization to preserve red pandas:



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr
Red Panda Network - San Francisco CA - Environmental Conservation Charity Organization Facebook


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## Mattis

Some new ones:




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## annamaria

Really enjoying these critter shots.  Keep em coming.


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## Mattis

Haven't posted here in a while. Got some new ones!




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## goooner

Great shots, as always. I saw one of your shots on the Firefox homepage a couple of weeks ago (here in Germany). Way to goooo!


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## Mattis

Yeah, they used the shot in post #31  I was pretty excited when I found out about it!


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## Mattis

Red pandas just look amazing in fall! The background works so well with their fur!




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

This was about 1 and 1/3 of a stop underexposed because the awful lighting messed with my exposure. I'm still happy about what the D7000 can do


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## jcdeboever

Don't see those in Detroit. Thanks for sharing.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## Mattis

jcdeboever said:


> Don't see those in Detroit. Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


Well, I only see them at zoos as well  But they are very common in German zoos, no idea how common they are in American zoos.

Here's another one:




Adorable laziness by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

Fully enjoying her weekend


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## Mattis

They look so beautiful with all the colorful leaves in the background!




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## Mattis

Who could say no to this adorable face?



Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## snowbear

_Adorable Laziness_ nominated for November POTM

We have a couple of Red Pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, DC but one keeps getting out of the enclosure and was exiled to the zoo's research center in rural Virginia.


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## Mattis

snowbear said:


> _Adorable Laziness_ nominated for November POTM
> 
> We have a couple of Red Pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, DC but one keeps getting out of the enclosure and was exiled to the zoo's research center in rural Virginia.



Oh wow, thank you! 
Red pandas are known to be escape artists. Last week one escaped from a zoo in the Netherlands as well.


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## Mattis

Another one of her, looking all epic. And cute.




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## Mattis

Being as lazy as possible is an integral part of the life of a red panda.




Taking a break by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## Mattis

I just love her new favorite spot! She is so close to you, it's great 




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## pjaye

Red panda's are so freaking adorable. I visit the Toronto Zoo, they have two there. In a new enclosure (not behind glass yay!) that puts them in a more natural environment and they are so much fun to watch. Great shots.


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## Mattis

symplybarb said:


> Red panda's are so freaking adorable. I visit the Toronto Zoo, they have two there. In a new enclosure (not behind glass yay!) that puts them in a more natural environment and they are so much fun to watch. Great shots.


That sounds great  I love enclosures that have no glass or fences in the way. The panda I post here is behind glass, but it's just about chest high. It's not in the way and I can actually rest my arms on it to stabilize my camera!
My favorite tiger is getting a new enclosure right now as well, sadly he will be entirely behind glass... I hope I'll still be able to take great shots of him, but I kind of doubt it :c


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## pjaye

Mattis said:


> symplybarb said:
> 
> 
> 
> Red panda's are so freaking adorable. I visit the Toronto Zoo, they have two there. In a new enclosure (not behind glass yay!) that puts them in a more natural environment and they are so much fun to watch. Great shots.
> 
> 
> 
> That sounds great  I love enclosures that have no glass or fences in the way. The panda I post here is behind glass, but it's just about chest high. It's not in the way and I can actually rest my arms on it to stabilize my camera!
> My favorite tiger is getting a new enclosure right now as well, sadly he will be entirely behind glass... I hope I'll still be able to take great shots of him, but I kind of doubt it :c
Click to expand...


Yup, our red panda's have a wooden fence, waist high too. Love it. 

It's so hard to get good pictures through glass, although I know some people have succeeded. I much prefer when they are out in the open.


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## Mattis

symplybarb said:


> Yup, our red panda's have a wooden fence, waist high too. Love it.
> 
> It's so hard to get good pictures through glass, although I know some people have succeeded. I much prefer when they are out in the open.


It's tough, but it can be done. It pretty much depends on how clean the glass is and if you can avoid reflections in the glass.

Have a nice weekend! 




Tired Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## Mattis

Here's another:




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

Again, I hope everyone will have a great weekend


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## harry55511

great captures....mattis


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## Mattis

Thanks!
Here's something a little different, just to show that she isn't a lazy panda^^




Exploring Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

She is actually very active for a red panda. She doesn't just lie around a lot like other pandas, she runs through her enclosure, nibbles on small plants and she likes to chase small birds. Red pendas _are _predators, but I never saw her actually catch a bird


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## Mattis

She is just the cutest panda ever... Case in point:




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## Mattis

And another one for the weekend 




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## Mattis

It's rainy and windy, this is not going to be a great weekend for photos...

Have another one:




Snowy Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## Mattis

The rain can't stop her from enjoying her lunch!




Panda Lunch In The Rain by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## FITBMX

I don't know how I missed this thread! 
These are all wonderful photos, great job!!!


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## Mattis

Thanks @FITBMX 

Life has changed a lot for this little gal recently. She got a new buddy at the end of January!




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

At first they couldn't really stand each other. They were curious but still cautious and tried to avoid each other, but that didn't work out all the time.




Meeting the new roommate by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

But now, roughly three weeks after he arrived, they are already best buds and were playing with each other all day long when I was there last Sunday 




You are my new best friend... by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## annamaria

I really enjoy this series.


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## Mattis

Here's another one of Jang enjoying his bamboo dinner:




Red Panda Bamboo Dinner by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr


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## ZombiesniperJr

Nice shots


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## Mattis

Boy, it's been a while... I've been pretty busy with other stuff.

Here's a new one of Jang:




Red Panda by Mathias Appel, auf Flickr

He is starting to be more curious about the visitors. When I had my tripod set up in front of their enclosure he got close and wanted to see what I was doing. I helt my hand under the glass fence, at first he wasn't really sure about what was going on. Then he sniffed me a little and nibbled on my finger 
Then he dashed through the enclosure and started to roll around on the ground... Maybe I taste bad


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## PersistentNomad

The 4th is my favorite. It's got such a great expression in its face and body language.


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