Red Panda

A panda apart

This critter feels most at home up in the trees, but its precise place on the mammal family tree is still debated by biologists. The red panda shares a name (and bamboo diet) with the giant panda, but gene studies have suggested a tighter evolutionary link with mustelids like weasels and skunks. In any case, the red panda remains alone in the Ailuridae family—but that could change. Some researchers think the Himalayan highlands' red pandas are distinct enough from those in southwest China (like our bushy-bodied buddy here) to be another species. Hey, why not? Cute deserves company.