Taxidermy Red panda cub
by James Gardner
by James Gardner
Latin: Ailurus fulgens
Size: Approx. 76cm x 53cm x 20cm
Description: The red panda is considered a living fossil and only distantly related to the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), as it is naturally more closely related to the other members of the superfamily Musteloidea to which it belongs. The species has been classified as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List since 2008 because the global population is estimated at about 10,000 individuals, with a decreasing population trend; only about half of the total area of potential habitat of 142,000 km2 (55,000 sq mi) is actually being used by the species. The red panda has a naturally low birth rate (usually single or twin births per year), and a high death rate in the wild.
James Gardner founded his prolific taxidermy business in the early 1840's. The firm was known at several numbers in Oxford Street and held Royal warrants for 'Her Majesty the Queen Victoria, The Royal Families of England and France and HH The Khedive of Egypt, making this firms place as one of the best British historical taxidermists secured.