Why are pandas called bears when they are not actually bears at all?

I've done some research and know where the confusion is. A Giant Panda Bear is in a different genus than black bears and brown bears which are Ursus genus. However all animals in the family Ursidae are in the bear family.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Ursidae

Genus: Ailuropoda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca is the scientific name for a Giant Panda Bear whereas Ursus arctos is a brown bear and Ursus maritimus is a polar bear and Ursus americanus is the black bear. So you see it is in a completely different genus than most of the three most familiar bears in North America.

Why are pandas called bears when they are not actually bears at all?liveupdate

There are three subfamilies: Ailuropodinae (Giant Panda), Tremarctinae (Spectacled Bear), and Ursinae (all other bears). My source is a book on bears. Report It

Why are pandas called bears when they are not actually bears at all?nortin

The lesser panda is related to raccoons. That may be where the confusion stems from, perhaps. Report It


by tradition
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (''black-and-white cat-foot'') is a mammal classified in the bear family