When most people think of pandas, they probably imagine the large, black-and-white animals who seem to have trouble being prodded into procreation.
A more colorful and less well-known panda is the red panda — a small, red herbivore that lives in trees and is exceptionally skilled at climbing. Like their panda relatives, red pandas enjoy bamboo, but they also eat fruit, nuts and eggs, according to National Geographic.
This week’s Pet Instagram Review isn’t centered on just one panda, but rather the multiple pandas who live at the Maruyama Zoo in Japan. Although they aren’t technically “pets” in this case, the red pandas of @cattail.sapporo provide anything a good pet Instagram provides. The account has more than 13,000 followers.
Quality of Pictures
Most of the posts on this page are videos. You’ll see firsthand the climbing skills of these furry red creatures, and you’ll get a glimpse into the daily life of red pandas living in a zoo. The pandas are very cute and fluffy and appear to be friendly with their handlers — even climbing up their backs at times. It’s a job that probably wouldn’t get old very quickly.
In addition, you’ll see the pandas eat lots of plants and snacks, which is very entertaining to watch because of their very tiny faces. For some reason the people running the account choose to post some very appetizing photos of Asian cuisine. If I could read Japanese I would probably understand the context, but even though they aren’t pictures of pandas, I enjoy the food posts.
Rate of Posts
You’ll probably see 2-5 posts per day. Keep in mind though, the average includes the occasional food photo or a nice cityscape shot, which by definition are not pets or animals. Regardless, this video-focused account will give you plenty to absorb.
Cuteness of Pet
Red pandas are grossly underrepresented in the conversation about cute animals. They’re very skilled, fluffy and even friendly at times. Even though they are not pets and probably should not be kept as one, I would love to have one of these little red things follow me around everywhere I go.
Rating: ⅘
I would like to see more photos, as they are lacking on this account. However, the videos definitely deliver and should not be overlooked. Just one glimpse of a red panda climbing up the side of a handler to grab a snack might be enough to convince you to buy a plane ticket to Japan to visit them yourself.
