# Not a question--something I just learned **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 4, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099 "2004-12-04T20:17:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/1 "2004-12-04T20:17:52Z")
A few weeks ago I was at the San Diego zoo and was told something that shocked me out of my complascent stupor: Giant Pandas are a kind of bear, _not_ particularly closely related to raccoons. My whole world has come crashing down around me. šŸ˜› -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/2 "2004-12-04T20:30:36Z")
Think this belongs in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/3 "2004-12-04T20:31:47Z")
Iā€™m not a biologist, but I donā€™t think itā€™s just you; as far as I know, every knowledgable person thought the panda was a member of the racoon family until relatively recently. It wasnā€™t until DNA analysis that we learned that itā€™s actually a bear: > [@](#): > > Scientists already have pegged accurate estimates of the number of grizzly bears in Glacier National Park through DNA analysis. They have determined that the giant panda bear is, in fact, a bear; and they have determined that female marmots, once thought to be loyal to their mates, actually fool around quite a bit. > **[Rocky Mountain Research Station | RMRS - US Forest Service](https://www.fs.usda.gov/rmrs/)** > > RMRS - US Forest Service ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/4 "2004-12-04T20:39:27Z")
Moved to MPSIMS. **Frylock** , GQ is for General Questions. MSPIMS is for, well, Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share šŸ™‚ - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/5 "2004-12-04T20:42:33Z")
Also, _giant_ pandas are now thought to be bears (as little children had always thought), but _lesser_ pandas are apparently still basically raccoons. So I guess one of them isnā€™t a panda at all. And just to really weird things out, I believe the ā€œrealā€ pandaā€“that is, the animal that was first given that nameā€“is the little raccoon one. So I dunno what we should call the fuzzy black-and-white vegetarian bears. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/6 "2004-12-04T21:15:27Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Also, _giant_ pandas are now thought to be bears (as little children had always thought), but _lesser_ pandas are apparently still basically raccoons. So I guess one of them isnā€™t a panda at all. And just to really weird things out, I believe the ā€œrealā€ pandaā€“that is, the animal that was first given that nameā€“is the little raccoon one. So I dunno what we should call the fuzzy black-and-white vegetarian bears. [Theā€™re not _strict_ vegetarians.](http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/species/panda.html) Also, IIRC one once got a zoo keepers hand as a tasty bit. > [@](#): > > Being an omnivore, the giant pandaā€™s diet consists of 99% bamboo along with small percentages of fish, pikas, rodents, vines, irises, crocus, and murice grass. Pandas eat in a sitting position and since they eat about twelve hours a day, they sit a lot! During these twelve hours the pandas will have consumed somewhere between twenty-three and thirty-six pounds of food . ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/7 "2004-12-04T22:09:01Z")
Also, _giant_ male pandas are now known to [stand on their heads to pee](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4043105.stm). ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/8 "2004-12-05T01:28:10Z")
Am I the only one who grew up calling them ā€œpanda bears?ā€ Little 'uns, big 'uns, they were always bears to me . . . šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/9 "2004-12-05T01:44:19Z")
> [@xash](#): > > Moved to MPSIMS. > **Frylock** , GQ is for General Questions. MSPIMS is for, well, Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share :)- **xash** General Questions Moderator More than most! ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/10 "2004-12-05T04:20:45Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Am I the only one who grew up calling them ā€œpanda bears?ā€ Little 'uns, big 'uns, they were always bears to me . . . šŸ™‚ I called them that too! I didnā€™t even know they were considered to be part of the raccoon family till this thread. Man, have I been living under a rock or something? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/11 "2004-12-05T05:43:50Z")
Do you ever get the feeling that biologists just like to mix things around everyone once in a well just to show they are making great ā€œdiscoveriesā€ to everyone? When I was little, the biologists would say ā€œHey, little boy what kind of animal is a Panda Bear?ā€ Me, ā€œIt is a bear!ā€ Biologist, ā€œOh little boy, you are so stupid. Panda Bears arenā€™t really bears, they are related to raccoons. That is something that all us biologists knew and you didnā€™t.ā€ Now, I am grown up. They come back and say, ā€œJust kidding, it really is a bear.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/12 "2004-12-05T05:46:51Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > A few weeks ago I was at the San Diego zoo and was told something that shocked me out of my complascent stupor: > > Giant Pandas are a kind of bear, _not_ particularly closely related to raccoons. > > My whole world has come crashing down around me. šŸ˜› > > -FrL- Whatā€™s the big shock? They always seemed like bears to me. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/13 "2004-12-05T07:10:17Z")
Well _this_ thread has sure gone all bear-shaped. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/14 "2004-12-05T08:06:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Well this thread has sure gone all bear-shaped. Ouch! That one hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/15 "2004-12-05T17:18:38Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Also, _giant_ male pandas are now known to [stand on their heads to pee](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4043105.stm). I used to have to do that some mornings when younger. Not so much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-a-question-something-i-just-learned/278099/16 "2004-12-05T18:00:31Z")
> [@Cabbage](#): > > It wasnā€™t until DNA analysis that we learned that itā€™s actually a bear It appears to have been considered a raccoon at least through 1979 - I have an old zoology text which places the Greater Panda (aka ā€œPanda Bearā€) in the Procyonidae (raccoon) family. From looking around a bit, it appears that the taxonomic change from ā€œraccoonā€ to ā€œbearā€ happened somewhere between '79 and '85. Part of the reason for this strange classification appears to be the fact that it was widely regarded that the Greater and Lesser Pandas were related, and that the lesser panda was a member of the raccoon family (which, of course, would mean that the greater ones should be, too). It has since been found that the two pandas really arenā€™t that closley related, so could be separated without screwing up the taxonomy. Of course, exactly where the lesser panda falls is now under dispute (see my post #29 in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=279572)).