The red panda (Ailurus fulgens, or “shining cat” in Latin) is a denizen of the same bamboo forests of China that harbor the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, meaning “black and white cat-foot”). They also subsist largely on bamboo leaves, though they’re a bit more omnivorous than their larger relative. Although it’s called the “lesser panda”, and is sympatric with A. melanoleuca, red pandas aren’t that closely related: the red panda is in the family Ailuridae and superfamily Mustiloidea, along with otters, skunks, weasels and raccoons, while the giant panda is in the family Ursidae, along with other bears.

When I was in graduate school, it was still debated whether giant pandas were really closely related to bears, a question that was resolved using molecular analysis: immunological distance. The study, by Vince Sarich, was published in Nature in a paper with a wonderfully concise title: “The giant panda is a bear.” The phylogenetic position of red pandas was resolved in several later studies.

But enough of the biology lesson—let’s end a long week with a video of this delightful animal training for the next Olympics:

And for extra squee, some red panda babies from the Knoxville Zoo: