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
Qinling panda bamboo diet. Even though it is not fully known what toxicants it has been exposed it is determined that it was heavy metal from the atmospheric deposition. Thus, the conservation of the Qinling pandas may be compromised in the future due to the issues of air pollution of China. Qinling panda The Qinling panda ("Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis") is a subspecies of the giant panda, discovered in the 1960s but not recognized as a subspecies until 2005. Disregarding the nominate subspecies, it is the first giant panda subspecies to be recognized. It differs from the more familiar nominate subspecies by its