Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) are neither bears nor cats, much less pandas as they are commonly referred to. They are closer in blood to skunks, raccoons and weasels than to the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). However, they belong to the same carnivora order, and bamboo occupies a very important place in their diet.
Interestingly, the word "panda" was first used (circa around the mid-19th century) for red pandas, rather than the giant pandas that are now used. The word may have been derived from the Nepali word Nigálya-pónya to describe "animals that eat bamboo" or "animals that nibble on bamboo", and panda is derived from the second half of the word. The term was only applied to the giant panda in the early 20th century, and gradually became the exclusive name of the giant panda.
