Brief History:
The Panda's binomial name means black and white cat foot. Before the panda evolved, it was shorter standing at around 3 ft tall. Research shows that the panda evolved about 3 million years on a separate path than other bears. By the early 60's, panda reserves were starting to be built do to the decline of the species. In 1979, the World Wildlife Fund begins working with the Chinese government to help conserve panda population. In 2004, the Chinese government released the panda count at 1,600 pandas which was an increase of 40% since the 80's.