When people hear the word "panda", they usually think about the giant panda (see the photo below) which is black and white.
Above photo by J. Patrick Fischer
Link to the above photo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grosser_Panda.JPG
However, the red panda looks quite different.
The red panda is small -- slightly bigger than a house cat,
and has a long bushy tail.
In fact, when zoologist Frederic Cuvier described the red panda in 1825, he gave it the name ailurus fulgens. which means "shining cat" or "fire-coloured cat".
(As per this Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda under "Phylogenetics":
Ailurus, (from Ancient Greek αἴλουρος, "cat"),
based on superficial similarities with domestic cats.
The specific epithet is the Latin adjective fulgens, "shining".
Ailurus fulgens. It reminds me of the name Fulgencio (for men) and the name Fulgencia (for women). Both Fulgencio and Fulgencia mean "shining/glowing".
http://www.behindthename.com/name/fulgencio
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Fulgencia
Anyway, the red panda is incredibly cute and cuddly!!
I want to give it a bunch of hugs.
Wish I had one as a pet...
See the pictures and video below.
Above photo by Greg Hume
Link to the above photo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RedPandaFullBody.JPG
Above photo by Carlos Delgado; CC-BY-SA
Link to the above photo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ailurus_fulgens_-_01.jpg
And here's a very cute and short (a bit less than 2 minutes)
video on youtube:
Name of the above youtube video:
Red Panda playing in the snow
Name of youtube channel:
Mmovies21
Link to above youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GaPkkGZGw
Links to more information about the red panda:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda
http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/red_panda/red_panda.htm
