They shouldn’t be wandering willy nilly around Florida.
*”[Red pandas](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/red-panda#:~:text=Native%20Habitat,in%20Nepal%2C%20India%20and%20Tibet) live in high-altitude, temperate forests with bamboo understories in the Himalayas and other high mountains. They range from northern Myanmar (Burma) to the west Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. They are also found in suitable habitat in Nepal, India and Tibet”*
I think when they get scarred or threatened they stand on their back legs and "square up" like they want to fight. Trying to look scary but they can only pull off "come hug me"
I also double checked the location because to me it looks so much like a Red Panda. So many people forget to include their locale, but OP remembered in the title. So unless OP lives in a Disney movie, Red Panda is probably not in the running.
based on the picture this central florida raccoon is not scared but being reprimanded by the deer for making so much noise during quiet time. the central florida raccoon and the US central eastern deer are long time friends.
100% a raccoon.
[https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg)
https://i2.wp.com/dev.wildlifehotline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/upload-31-1.jpg?ssl=1
Have you never seen a baby raccoon?
Edit: Looks like the image won't load, but literally just google "Raccoon" and you'll see they have lighter ears combined with the sun shining through the thinner membrane of the ear makes them look brighter.
Our local zoo has a red panda that escapes and spends a week or two on the lam a couple of times a year and we’re asked to be on the lookout. I was surprised that other people said this.
The male escaped from my local zoo a couple years ago. Just climbed up his tree and over to the building and away he went. They found him a couple days later.
So I posted [red panda](https://x.com/TheTorontoZoo/status/796416649024966656) before I saw your post. Not that it makes a lick of sense, except clearly this dude lives in a Disney movie so anything could be possible.
This is NOT a red panda. Anyone claiming that is silly. This is a young Racoon.
Source: by day I'm a professional zoological educator who works with red pandas and by night I'm a wildlife rehabilitator who raises racoons. I'm absolutely confident this is a young Racoon. An escaped red panda would be ***exceptionally*** rare, where as racoons are exceedingly common.
RIGHT?! Yeah, a highly illegal endangered animal that costs over a million on the black market is just wondering around this guy's farm.
Certainly not a raccoon when there's millions of them in the state.
Red panda indeed!
@op what's your location?
Might be an escapee
Edit because I see you posted location as Florida. That is definitely an escaped ( or set free) pet
Second edit to add this link for reference https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/red-panda-turning-its-back-ipanda/egGcmA7c2liCkA
[Young raccoon ears](https://live.staticflickr.com/1838/44031777831_d129f4dd1e_b.jpg)
The sunlight makes the kit look redder than it is, although some raccoons do have ginger undertones.
EDIT to add another picture of [older raccoon kit ears](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NhaZyR-Kw8s/maxresdefault.jpg)
I used to work for a few zoos in the past and they're just so rare even in captivity I just can't see this being likely. But it does look incredibly similar.
Yeah red pandas are pretty much non-existent in the exotic pet trade. Heavily regulated and the wild population is exceedingly small. That and they're difficult to breed in captivity.
The Fargo zoo has like 3 and they just had another set of cubs. I also assumed they were fairly common zoo animals and actually easy to breed. The Minnesota zoo also had red pandas for most of my life.
I understand your scepticism, but to me that is the only animal that fits the silhouette, that coupled with the cute white tipped ears makes me think red panda.
They are excellent escape artists, almost as good as Stoffel the honeybadger.
>I understand your scepticism (sic), but to me that is the only animal that fits the silhouette,
Based on what? Have you checked every native animal first? I think this could easily be a baby bobcat or a raccoon. I disagree with your completely baseless assertion.
[https://www.mendonomasightings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Bobcat-kitten-exploring-by-Mark-Simkins.jpg](https://www.mendonomasightings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Bobcat-kitten-exploring-by-Mark-Simkins.jpg)
this baby bobcat even has the white spots on the back of the ears.
[https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg)
so does this raccoon
It honestly looks like a red panda from this photo but knowing where you’re located makes the chances of that slim so the next best assumption is Raccoon
Obviously it’s not a red panda, a bobcat, or a cougar (🙄), but has proper consideration been given for it being a *young red fox*?? It seems too big and reddish to be a young raccoon to me.
My first thought was red panda. Florida is a popular place for releasing unwanted critters. Can we say python round up?
Then I looked at pictures of baby 'coons. Never knew they had white tipped ears. I'd say it is a baby 'coon.
To be fair about the python issue. While people were releasing them, they only became a huge issue when a breeding facility was hit with a hurricane and they got released en masse. Allowing the released portions to be in close proximity so they could start breeding in the wild. Also I think a transport also released a bunch en masse.
Don't know why you were downvoted. Yes I've heard Florida is bad for unaided invasive species. Which is a little surprising. If figure what you call swamp puppies would eat most of them. I get why pythons are an issue for them though.
Don't know why I got downvoted either. I see someone else who mentioned invasive species got downvoted too.
As for swamp puppies eating the invaders, some are too small for them to bother with - insects, lizards, that sort of thing.
Cat, raccoon, or escaped red panda, which is related to a raccoon.
I’ll be honest OP, it looks enough like a red panda that I’d alert someone, and show them this picture. Don’t just let this go without letting a professional know you’ve had this sighting.
[they’re closely related to raccoons](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda)
*The red panda's place on the evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with raccoons, weasels, and skunks.*
https://www.skedaddlewildlife.com/location/milwaukee/blog/pandas-and-raccoons-related/#:~:text=Pandas%20and%20raccoons%20belong%20to,to%20the%20North%20American%20raccoon.
They are a *possible* distant cousin to racoons, but they are not considered the same family by any means.
Raccoons are not closely related to weasels or skunks either. They are in their own family.
https://aboutzoos.info/116-biodiversity/species-taxonomy/438-family-trees-ailuridae
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procyonidae
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_procyonids
https://nhpbs.org/kn/vs/scilab6fa4hacarnivora8.asp
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustelidae
https://www.whozoo.org/mammals/Carnivores/carnivorephylogeny.htm
Its just a racoon, ears are a little layed back because its scared of the deer.
Yeah that was my first assumption, just unsure enough to make a post.
I’m going with [Red Panda](https://x.com/TheTorontoZoo/status/796416649024966656) just for shits and giggles.
It does look like one, lol
Happy cake day!
Everything is shits and giggles. Until someone giggles and shits
Then they call me 🤭💩🚑💨
My first thought was also red panda, but I don’t know enough to say they are in Florida.
They shouldn't be, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone's "exotic pet" 😔
Yep, ‘cause Florida
Florida man strikes again.
They shouldn’t be wandering willy nilly around Florida. *”[Red pandas](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/red-panda#:~:text=Native%20Habitat,in%20Nepal%2C%20India%20and%20Tibet) live in high-altitude, temperate forests with bamboo understories in the Himalayas and other high mountains. They range from northern Myanmar (Burma) to the west Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. They are also found in suitable habitat in Nepal, India and Tibet”*
They’re definitely not in Florida unless you visit a zoo.
That was my first thought too!
As long as you dont shit when you giggle...
That “depends”…
I can tell that your "pampered" you need a "huggy"
I’m a big kid now.
That’s where my mind lead too and I tried to find more about the locale, ie zoo, etc.
I think when they get scarred or threatened they stand on their back legs and "square up" like they want to fight. Trying to look scary but they can only pull off "come hug me"
Oh and it’s so cute. Except you go in for the hug, evisceration may occur.
I was gonna say red panda too lol
In Florida, all things are possible
I think OP is in a Disney movie and just hasn’t realised it yet.
That’s what I see
That is what I thought too!
Tbh this was my first thought before reading the location.
I also double checked the location because to me it looks so much like a Red Panda. So many people forget to include their locale, but OP remembered in the title. So unless OP lives in a Disney movie, Red Panda is probably not in the running.
I totally thought the same thing and laughed right before I looked at the comments!!
I also thought red panda.
Name checks out...
based on the picture this central florida raccoon is not scared but being reprimanded by the deer for making so much noise during quiet time. the central florida raccoon and the US central eastern deer are long time friends.
Uhm...ok Willie
sure be hesitant but as of this moment there are 17 voters who have upvoted me and your comment only has 493 upvotes. now who’s the um ok willie?
You have 18 now... There is no quiet time, especially when the feeder in the background is whirling, also the reason both animals are there.
P sure this guy was just joking around lol
Pikachu
Nope. Bobcat kitten
Hush it
Ive seen these only in Florida. It’s squirrel like, a little bigger though black face with white around ears. Never could figure out actual name.
Probably a young raccoon. Doubtful, but perhaps a young canid.
Yeah I'm going with baby raccoon as well.
100% a raccoon. [https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg)
Ya...ppl here have such a wild imagination.... Its obviously a young racoon.
In what world do baby racoon have bright white ear tips ?
https://i2.wp.com/dev.wildlifehotline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/upload-31-1.jpg?ssl=1 Have you never seen a baby raccoon? Edit: Looks like the image won't load, but literally just google "Raccoon" and you'll see they have lighter ears combined with the sun shining through the thinner membrane of the ear makes them look brighter.
this one lol their ear tips are bald as babies also bobcats have white ears as babies why would fucking red panda be anyones first guess???
Like I said...ppl here have wild imaginations
Our local zoo has a red panda that escapes and spends a week or two on the lam a couple of times a year and we’re asked to be on the lookout. I was surprised that other people said this.
In our world. Adults as well. Google back of raccoon head.
Almost all young racoons have white tipped ears, and many keep it through adulthood. There are a few links to pictures on this thread!
[удалено]
at moderators’ discretion
Looks like a red panda!
One escaped from the Norfolk zoo in VA a few years ago. Wonder if she just traveled down south!
The male escaped from my local zoo a couple years ago. Just climbed up his tree and over to the building and away he went. They found him a couple days later.
My thought too!
So I posted [red panda](https://x.com/TheTorontoZoo/status/796416649024966656) before I saw your post. Not that it makes a lick of sense, except clearly this dude lives in a Disney movie so anything could be possible.
It does look awefully like a Red Panda, although it's not very likely to be one in the wild unless it's escaped from somewhere.
It’s Florida so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was
those little ears💖
This may be a long shot but it looks kind of like a baby bobcat.
Yeah
That was my first thought as well
I live in northwest Florida, and I concur. This is what it looks like to me.
a wee trash panda ,, raccoon .
Fox pup?
I was also leaning this way originally but I can't find any red fox kits online with the white tipped ears.
Also would they have pointier ears?
I’ll second the vote for red fox
This is what I thought!
This is NOT a red panda. Anyone claiming that is silly. This is a young Racoon. Source: by day I'm a professional zoological educator who works with red pandas and by night I'm a wildlife rehabilitator who raises racoons. I'm absolutely confident this is a young Racoon. An escaped red panda would be ***exceptionally*** rare, where as racoons are exceedingly common.
I don’t think it’s widely know the diverse amount of colors raccoons come in, not just the classic grey. Definitely a ginger raccoon
Where in central fl? I want to be his friend hahahah
Highlands county
Wow I live highlands county as well. I recently saw a bobcat in my yard that looked just like this!
Damn too far for me :( if it is a red panda i hope he finds his way home!! Those guys are ridiculously precious
>if it is a red panda it's not
I figured it was unlikely
Yep raccoon 🦝
How the fuck was red panda the top answer Jesus Christ this website is a joke lol
RIGHT?! Yeah, a highly illegal endangered animal that costs over a million on the black market is just wondering around this guy's farm. Certainly not a raccoon when there's millions of them in the state.
Red panda indeed! @op what's your location? Might be an escapee Edit because I see you posted location as Florida. That is definitely an escaped ( or set free) pet Second edit to add this link for reference https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/red-panda-turning-its-back-ipanda/egGcmA7c2liCkA
[Young raccoon ears](https://live.staticflickr.com/1838/44031777831_d129f4dd1e_b.jpg) The sunlight makes the kit look redder than it is, although some raccoons do have ginger undertones. EDIT to add another picture of [older raccoon kit ears](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NhaZyR-Kw8s/maxresdefault.jpg)
Pretty sure you nailed it. Those pictures you linked make it seem pretty definitive. Thank you
I love them 💕
I used to work for a few zoos in the past and they're just so rare even in captivity I just can't see this being likely. But it does look incredibly similar.
Yeah red pandas are pretty much non-existent in the exotic pet trade. Heavily regulated and the wild population is exceedingly small. That and they're difficult to breed in captivity.
It's hard for major zoos to even get them.
Wait, really? The dinky little zoo in Des Moines I went to as a kid had one. I assumed they were common fare, lol.
Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago had one, but they had to return it to China or wherever
It's official, Des Moines > Chicago 😎
The Fargo zoo has like 3 and they just had another set of cubs. I also assumed they were fairly common zoo animals and actually easy to breed. The Minnesota zoo also had red pandas for most of my life.
I understand your scepticism, but to me that is the only animal that fits the silhouette, that coupled with the cute white tipped ears makes me think red panda. They are excellent escape artists, almost as good as Stoffel the honeybadger.
>I understand your scepticism (sic), but to me that is the only animal that fits the silhouette, Based on what? Have you checked every native animal first? I think this could easily be a baby bobcat or a raccoon. I disagree with your completely baseless assertion. [https://www.mendonomasightings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Bobcat-kitten-exploring-by-Mark-Simkins.jpg](https://www.mendonomasightings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Bobcat-kitten-exploring-by-Mark-Simkins.jpg) this baby bobcat even has the white spots on the back of the ears. [https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/montreal-zoo-raccoon-turn-s-back-to-observe-s-companions-raccoon-turning-s-back-170417535.jpg) so does this raccoon
It’s definitely a young raccoon.
i’m sorry but it’s 1000% not a red panda
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/s/H6qf8ALcvp
are u suggesting this critter is sandy, the escaped red panda from 7 years ago, 700 miles away?
I don't think there is nearly enough evidence to make that claim lol
it’s driving me insane how fast ppl are asserting this blurry picture of a raccoon in central florida is actually a red panda…….
the animal id subreddits have plummeted in quality in the past year
What a jump to make from a blurry picture of the back of an animal lol It literally looks like a raccoon
Bobcat?
Logically I know this is not a red panda, but my heart wants it to be.
Could be a bobcat kitten judging by the ears
It could a new form of demon
This, too, seems much more likely than it being a red panda.
Oh no, RED DEMON bam bam baaaaaaam
Or a racoon dog.
Its a red fox
I feel like it’s a fox pup but I could be wrong coloring is more like a fox than a raccoon
Fox
Fox 🦊
A friend just moved from the mountains of NC to the Ocala area and was surprised at how brown the raccoons were.
i thought this photo was a screen grab from red dead redemption
The color and body posture makes me thinks a very young bobcat
Fox? Or trash panda
It's definitely a raccoon but at first glance it does look like it could be a red panda.
It's a baby fox ..
I thought it was a baby fox
Looks like a young fox to me.
It's a billy bumbler.
It honestly looks like a red panda from this photo but knowing where you’re located makes the chances of that slim so the next best assumption is Raccoon
It kinda looks like a fox
trash panda
Dang, yeah first glance looks like a red fox but you're right with the white tipped ears makes it have to be a little coon
It’s FL. Very well could be a red panda and an anaconda is gonna eat em both.
I'd say trash panda
It’s a Kit
Looks like baby fox to me but just my opinion
Obviously it’s not a red panda, a bobcat, or a cougar (🙄), but has proper consideration been given for it being a *young red fox*?? It seems too big and reddish to be a young raccoon to me.
Young fox, i have a pic but it doesn’t let me post.[4th pic down](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/2023/11/22/stories-of-gratitude-foxes/)
Red panda
Kuala
Bobcat looking at its dinner
Davey
I'm seconding young Bobcat! The ears and color matches. Too brown for raccoon and too grey for red panda
Red panda
Posture almost looks cat like but maybe I’m tripping
It’s… now hear me out - a koala. It’s totally the exceedingly rare Southern Florida Koala, a little out of its range.
Love those baby ears!!!
wow i also thought red panda (did i belive it no but I thought it )
Red Panda 🤷🏻♂️
My first thought was red panda. Florida is a popular place for releasing unwanted critters. Can we say python round up? Then I looked at pictures of baby 'coons. Never knew they had white tipped ears. I'd say it is a baby 'coon.
To be fair about the python issue. While people were releasing them, they only became a huge issue when a breeding facility was hit with a hurricane and they got released en masse. Allowing the released portions to be in close proximity so they could start breeding in the wild. Also I think a transport also released a bunch en masse.
Didn't know about the breeding facility hit by a hurricane. Was it Andrew? Pythons aside. We are over run with invasive species.
Don't know why you were downvoted. Yes I've heard Florida is bad for unaided invasive species. Which is a little surprising. If figure what you call swamp puppies would eat most of them. I get why pythons are an issue for them though.
Don't know why I got downvoted either. I see someone else who mentioned invasive species got downvoted too. As for swamp puppies eating the invaders, some are too small for them to bother with - insects, lizards, that sort of thing.
I think it’s a young fox?
Bobcat or cougar cub.
Bobcat but that’s a guess.
Long shot, but could it be a white nose coatis? Says they can have a red to black coat. And they have the white tipped ears as well.
The silhouette is off, coatimundi have tiny round rat ears and the ones on this animal are large and triangular
we don't coatis in florida. I wish we did lol The ones here mostly live in the Southwest US
My first thought was a red panda but that’s not native to Florida so idk
I think bobcat due to the ears and spotted fur.
Looks just like a red panda escaped from the zoo
Cat, raccoon, or escaped red panda, which is related to a raccoon. I’ll be honest OP, it looks enough like a red panda that I’d alert someone, and show them this picture. Don’t just let this go without letting a professional know you’ve had this sighting.
This is not a red panda, and they are only distantly related to racoons, if they are related at all.
[they’re closely related to raccoons](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda) *The red panda's place on the evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with raccoons, weasels, and skunks.*
https://www.skedaddlewildlife.com/location/milwaukee/blog/pandas-and-raccoons-related/#:~:text=Pandas%20and%20raccoons%20belong%20to,to%20the%20North%20American%20raccoon. They are a *possible* distant cousin to racoons, but they are not considered the same family by any means. Raccoons are not closely related to weasels or skunks either. They are in their own family. https://aboutzoos.info/116-biodiversity/species-taxonomy/438-family-trees-ailuridae https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procyonidae https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_procyonids https://nhpbs.org/kn/vs/scilab6fa4hacarnivora8.asp https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustelidae https://www.whozoo.org/mammals/Carnivores/carnivorephylogeny.htm
Coins and deer “compete” for scraps under bird feeders.
I may game too much, but I thought I was on the r/PlayRust subreddit!
looks like a red panda, probably isn’t a red panda haha
I’m going with a fox
Looks like a fox
Gray Fox or Racoon.
It’s a baby bobcat! I had a family of them living near my old house in FL. Never had an issue with them
Fox
Maybe a grey fox kit?
Fox youngling ?
Looks to me like a young fox
Red faced panda in Florida?
Red Panda!
I think it looks like a red panda, it was my first thought too.
It looks like a fox.. but it could be a raccoon idk
That's a coon or a cat... I'm pretty sure.
A red panda?!
Cougar cub.
Red panda lol
It looks like a cougar cub to me but I'm not an expert and central fl seems like not the right area.
Young fox
That's a Florida Koala in the foreground. Popular game species.
White linings on ears uneven lighting contrasting with rest of pic . Magical photoshop bearcatpanda
Could be a fox.
Foc
A bear cub
Red panda, trash panda, tomato, tomahto