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

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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

Answer 3

by tradition