"You've made me feel like a skunk at a garden party!"

- Kenneth Starr
 

A lesser panda stands on two legs in Chiba Zoological Park east of Tokyo on 19 May 2005.
The park said the lesser panda can stand for up to 20 seconds; such behaviour
is uncommon.  (Photo by Chiba Zoological Park) Source: allhatnocattle.net

Or perhaps not so uncommon after all?
Source: dailysquee.com

To me, lesser pandas heads don't look like they belong on their bodies.  There are thought to be fewer than 2,500 breeding adult lesser pandas left in the world.  Their numbers will continue to decline due to habitat destruction.  The lesser panda isn't a bear (like the giant panda is) - instead, they're related to raccoons, weasels and skunks.  (Smell no doubt plays a big part in their lives.)  They begin each day with a bath.  They are friendly, but they use their sharp claws when frightened, so be careful.

One of My Favourite Mammals

(But NOT Inside a House)

Source: funpic.hu

Having Fun

"I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess!"
Source: darkroastedblend.com

Greed Overcomes Prudence

Source: flickr.com

And Fear

Source: dailysquee.com

Greed Part 2 (through 75)

Bandit, the world's heaviest raccoon, rests in the lap of Deborah "Pepper" Klitsch on 30 January 2001 in Palmerton, Pennsylvania.
Bandit, a junk-food crazed critter billed as the world's weightiest raccoon, died Saturday, 8 May 2004.
Klitsch denied the occasional charge that she overfed the rotund raccoon, whose weight ballooned to nearly 75 pounds, 3 times average for his breed.
(AP Photo/The Morning Call, John F Simitz) Source: bbs.defence.co.kr

Bandit, reported to be the world's fattest raccoon, has died.  The 10-year-old furball stuffed itself on crisps, cheese curls, Froot Loops and chips.  Owner Deborah Klitsch said she was gutted.  "I haven't been eating, I haven't been sleeping," she said.  But Deborah denied that she had overfed Bandit.  "He was born with a bad thyroid gland," she said.

Bandit ended up in the Guinness World Records book in 1999 when he tipped the scales at 52.5lbs.  At that point Deborah vowed to lock her kitchen cupboards - but Bandit continued to get fatter and fatter.  His minor celebrity status increased further when he landed a slot on cable TV's Food Network.  The raccoon was also a regular at his local Ice Cream World, where he enjoyed blue raspberry Slushes sucked through a straw.

Boss Tim Pitts said: "He was a good customer."

Source: thesun.co.uk

For more on animals, including reptiles, crustaceans, arachnids, insects, fish, birds, pets, livestock, rodents, bears, primates, whales and Wellington's waterfront, click "Up" below to take you to the Index page for this Animals section.