THE TIBETAN PANDA 
these animals from primitive civetlike Eocene Carnivora. 
The connecting link between the raccoons and the bears is 
found in the panda, or coon-bear, of the eastern Himalayas 
and Tibet, which seems to be a fairly close cousin 
of the Ailuropus. It is about the size of a big cat, 
but of a form all its own, having high haunches, bearlike 
limbs and feet, with the long claws partly retractile, a thick 
woolly coat, and a long, furry, ring-marked tail. The upper 
parts are bright, 
glossy rust-red, but 
the triangular face 
is white with a red 
streak from each eye 
to the corners of the 
mouth, and the lower 
surface of the body 
and the legs are 
black. This quaint 
creature spends most 
of its time on the 
ground, but it can ; 
climb trees, and its A COON-BEAR, THE PANDA. 
food and habits gencrally are much like those of a real bear. 
The remainder of the group is American. No animal, in- 
deed, is more characteristically American than is the raccoon, 
nor has any of our quadrupeds been more thoroughly and 
lovingly treated by our writers generally. 
Captain John Smith, in his report upon Virginia, mentions 
“a beast they call aroughcun, much like a badger, but vseth 
to liue on trees as Squirrels doe.” The rapid Ameri- 
cans quickly shortened these sonorous syllables 
to “raccoon,” and then cut even that down to “coon.” If 
you were to dock his tail to a mere scut, and do not compare 
the markings on the face too closely, he is ‘much like a 
221 
Panda. 
Raccoon. 
