WNCNC - Red Panda

I like learning.  Days go better when I lean something new.  And at the Western North Carolina Nature Center, I learned something.  And it was good.
I had no idea there was something called a Red Panda.  Cute doesn't begin to describe this critter.  And it was the most difficult to photograph.  Seriously.
As to the critter, and how it wound up in North Carolina it is a bit of a story.
Is it a panda?  Is it a raccoon?  No one knows for sure.  Currently it is in its own family.  But why is this an inhabitant of the WNCNC?  The center is residence to current Appalachian inhabitants.  Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar (Burma), as well as in central China.   That's current.  A direct relative of the Red Panda, Bristol’s Panda, was found to live in the Appalachian mountains nearly 5 million years ago.  Learning.  The Red Panda should be represented in the nature center.
As I mentioned, these critters were hard to photograph.  Yes they move slow.  Yes, you can predict where they are going to move to and from.  No place to hide.  The issue is the fencing.  The chain link is about half the size of a 'normal' chain link.  Auto focus didn't work so well.  All manual focus.  Not complaining, just a fact.

Red Panda Looking

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20 /70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

165 mm, 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 640 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Red Panda Walk

NIKON D500 Ver.1.20 /70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

165 mm, 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 720 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Learning.  It's a good thing.