Red pandas are an extremely unique and important species; the red panda is what's known as an ambassador species for its habitat, (Why Save the Red Panda, 2019) meaning that all conservation efforts that go into protecting it and its natural environment - that ranges from the mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar to the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China (Dunagan, 2019) - also positively affect all of the animals that are living in the same area as it. This includes many threatened species such as the Himalayan black bears and clouded leopards. 

        In addition to being an ambassador for its habitat and all of the species who live in it, red pandas also play an important ecological role, eating bamboo and producing waste to fertilize the ground. (Kong, Role in the Food Web) The red panda's manure helps plants grow by enriching the soil that they grow in and supplying it with nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. (Gutierrez-Mazzotti, 2017) By putting nutrients into the soil the red panda is allowing plants to grow and providing food for other animals who feed off of those plants.

Red pandas also play an important role in the food chain as a source of food for many animals. Red pandas are hunted and eaten by snow leopards and yellow-necked martens, as well as some birds of prey and other small carnivores who hunt and eat red panda cubs. (Animals, 2019) If red pandas were to go extinct than many of the other animals who look to them as a source of food could die out as well. 

        Red pandas are also what's known as an indicator species - meaning that they are used to determine the overall health of an ecosystem, or more specifically the Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf Forest. (Why Save the Red Panda, 2019) 

        As you can see red pandas are very important to their ecosystem, and if we protect them and their home we are not only going to be saving these adorable and important animals who have just as much a right to live on this planet as we do, but we will also be enjoying the many benefits of trees! Which include healthier forests and cleaner air!