[originaltext] The Giant Panda is also known as the "Panda Bear", "Bamboo Be

The Giant Panda is also known as the "Panda Bear", "Bamboo Bear", or in Chinese as "Daxiongmao", which means "large bear cat". The scientific name means "black and white cat-footed animal".
    As for the history of the Giant Panda, it is said that the earliest appearance of the Panda was somewhere between the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene periods—two to three million years ago.
    Panda fossils have been discovered in the areas of Burma and Vietnam and in particular, East China, as far north as Beijing.
    In the second century AD the Giant Panda was a rare and semi-divine animal inside China.  In the Han Dynasty, the emperor’s garden, in what was then known as the capital—Xi’an, held nearly 40 rare animal species, of which the panda was the most highly treasured.
    Scientists have debated for more than a century whether Giant Pandas actually do belong to the bear family or whether they are more related to the raccoon family or perhaps a separate family of their own. This is because the Giant Panda and its cousin, "the Lesser" or "Red Panda", share many characteristics with both bears and raccoons.
    Recent DNA analysis indicates that Giant Pandas are most definitely of the bear species although different enough to be put into its own sub family. The red pandas are more closely related to raccoons. Giant Pandas are categorized in the bear family while Red Pandas are categorized in the raccoon family.