The Official Houston Zoo Blog

It’s a raccoon! It’s a cat! It’s…Toby! The adorable…panda? Well of course Toby is a panda, a red panda to be exact. And even though he doesn’t exactly look like the stereotypical, black and white idea of what we think a panda bear should look like (those ones are giant pandas), Toby can claim to have held the highly coveted title of panda first, at least as Westerners know it.

Cutest Animal in the World

Although the very first manuscript record of a red panda sighting was discovered within an ancient Chinese scroll dating back to the 1200s, the first time Europeans heard of the animal was in 1821. Thomas Hardwicke was the first to make mention of the red panda in the West, calling it first a “Wah,” because of the noises it makes, and then a “poonya,” a name he had brought back from Asia.

From there, “poonya” became known as “panda” as it evolved into the English language, and the rest is history. But perhaps the most significant detail of this history of the panda namesake is that it wasn’t until 1869 that any mention of the giant panda made its way to European consciousness. Therefore, the very first image that comes to most of our minds when someone says “panda”…is actually out of order in the grand scheme of things.

Toby

But hey, that’s okay – Toby’s a good sport about it. He just spends his days hanging around his enclosure in the Natural Encounters building, munching bamboo and fruit, watching all the people that have come to watch him. Yup, climbing trees and napping in a soft, bushy, blanket-like tail sure is the life. After all, Toby does hold one title that the giant panda hasn’t yet touched…he is officially the Cutest Animal in the World!

Writer: Stefanie Hanselka                                                                                                 Source 1 Source 2