I was reading up on red pandas a few days ago. (This may sound strange, but about once a month I get the urge to look up an animal species and learn more about them. I'm weird like that.) One of the things that the Wikipedia site mentions is that red pandas are most closely related to bears and raccoons. Now, having worked closely with raccoons I know how intelligent and fun-loving they can be. (Although they can also be a pain in the ass when you're trying to sweep their cage out and they're trying to steal your broom... but that's another story.) Unlike me, though, most people consider them pests and annoyances. But these same people would do a flip if they ever saw a red panda in the wild. I know that red pandas are more rare and live in Asia as opposed to their back yard, but if you look at them they basically look like fluffy red raccoons. So you have to wonder, if red pandas were native to North America and raccoons were native to Asia, would these people go bonkers if they saw a raccoon? I think they would... and just like that one of our most reviled species would become one of the most beloved.
