Giant panda years ago) from the main ursine stock; since it is the most basal member of the group, it is equidistant from all other extant ursids. The giant panda has been referred to as a living fossil. Despite the shared name, habitat type, and diet, as well as a unique enlarged bone called the "pseudo thumb" (which helps them grip the bamboo shoots they eat) the giant panda and red panda are only distantly related. The word "panda" was borrowed into English from French, but no conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word "panda" has been found. The closest
Pan Pan (giant panda) thought to have over 130 descendants – more than a quarter of the world's captive-bred panda population. Pan Pan's children include Bai Yun (born 1991), Tian Tian (born 1997), and Lin Hui (born 2001). Pan Pan died aged 31 at the Dujiangyan branch of the centre on 28 December 2016, six months after being diagnosed with cancer. Pan Pan (giant panda) Pan Pan (1985 – 28 December 2016) was a male giant panda who was resident at the Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre in Chengdu, China. At the time of his death, he was the oldest male giant panda