Back in Chengdu

Spent the next night in Chengdu to catch a flight to Guilin the next morning, having given up trying to go through China overland. Cheap flights plus 6 days on a train at the start of the trip had killed that idea. Anyway, here is a picture of a Red Panda, which I think looks more like a racoon. See what you make of it.

I thought the red panda WAS a raccoon, so I thought I'd better look it up - Wikipedia says - The Red Panda was formerly classified in the raccoon family (Procyonidae), but now many experts, including Wilson and Reeder (1993), classify it as either a member of the bear family (Ursidae) or in its own family (Ailuridae). The most recent DNA research places the Red Panda in a family within the superfamily Musteloidea (which also contains the mustelid, skunk and raccoon families). It is native to the Himalayas and southern China, as well as parts of India and Nepal. A handful of fossils have also been discovered in North America. So now you know!!

written by old man of Cockshutt on August 29, 2006

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Chengdu, China