The red panda is a small mammal from China. Originally the name panda only meant the red panda, only later started people using it for the giant panda.
Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) in the Szeged Zoo, Hungary.
The red panda has no particular relation to the giant panda, people just used to think they were related. Wild red pandas live in forests and just like the giant pandas eat a lot of bamboo but, unlike the giant pandas, red pandas eat lots of other things including various small animals. The red panda definitely has a more omnivorous diet than its namesake.
As forest dweller red pandas are agile tree climbers, they have somewhat cat-like claws that partially retract.
Red panda sleeping in the Toronto Zoo.
Red pandas, just like the giant pandas, are also threatened by habitat destruction, but their fate does not look as grim as still there is a sizable wild red panda population.
Red pandas (小熊猫) in a warm day in the Szeged Zoo.