The scientific genus name for the giant panda, combining Greek words meaning 'cat-footed.'
From Greek 'ailuros' (cat) + 'pous/poda' (foot), literally meaning 'cat-foot.' The genus name was given by French naturalist Frédéric Cuvier in 1821 because early taxonomists thought pandas resembled cats more than bears.
The giant panda was classified as a bear only recently in 1985—before that, most scientists thought it was actually a large raccoon or even a weird cat! The misleading genus name 'cat-foot' stuck around even after scientists figured out it was a bear all along.
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