Panda

Panda

Noun · /ˈpæn.də/

Definition

(1) The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) — a large black-and-white bear native to the mountainous regions of central China, famous for its distinctive colouring and its near-exclusive diet of bamboo; an iconic symbol of wildlife conservation. (2) The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) — a smaller, reddish-brown mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, more closely related to weasels and raccoons than to the giant panda.

Origin

From Nepali poonya or pundya — the local name for the red panda in Nepal — via French. The red panda being the animal originally called panda in Western scientific literature, having been described by Western naturalists before the giant panda was known to the West. When the giant panda was described in the 1860s by French zoologist Père Armand David, it was called the bear-panda or large panda, and the red panda became the lesser panda or red panda. The giant panda's fame eventually making panda unqualified almost always refer to the giant panda in popular usage.