My name is Rusty and I am a Lesser Panda.
I am also a Beanie Baby and my poem reads:

Is every Panda black and white?
If you said, "No" then you were right
'Cause I'm a Panda through and through
I even love to eat bamboo!

The lesser panda is also called a cat bear (Ailurus). It is related to the Giant Panda of Asia. It looks more like a raccoon but has many bearlike traits. This little animal is only two feet long. The fur is long and luxurious; a deep red or rust color. The white face has a dark stripe running from the eyes to the corner of the mouth.

The tail is long and full like a raccoons. It is also banded. This little animal has a quiet friendly manner.

The lesser panda spends most of its time in the trees. It lives at high elevations from 7 to 12 thousand feet in the Himalayas of northern India and western China. Its favorite food is bamboo shoots, leaves, fruit, some insects, mice and other small animals.

The den is built in the hollow of a tree. The litter consists of from one to two babies.

Click on these links to see some of the other bears at Jeannie's Cottage:
Pandas | Lesser Panda | Ty Bears | Attic Treasure Bears | Boyds Bears | From Grandma's Heart | Puffkin Bears | RUSS, Aurora and Douglas Bears | Steiff Bear