There are two species of 'panda' - the giant and the red - which seem not to be closely related although both are now confined to eastern Asia and are predominantly herbivores.
I was always fascinated by where both of them had evolved and how they fitted into systematics. The giant pandas has been called 'a bear', then 'not a bear' &c &c - it now seems that it is part of the broader bear family but diverged from the true bears at an early stage of evolution.
Giant Panda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . The red panda, on the other hand, looks rather raccoon-like and is considered to be a member of the Mustelidae (weasel family) ... but there is argument over this, as well!
Red Panda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Both species are endangered ......