Ever since I saw Hue Mei, the cute as a button, ( but not as small) black and white hued panda bear hanging on the trees of the world famous San Diego zoo, seemingly posing for countless shutterbugs like a camera loving celebrity, I was smitten. I was also a little pained that she'd be gone to China in the following year as a part of a 'program' of some sort. Hue Mei, meaning China and USA, was aptly named since she was a product of the countries' efforts to keep the species out of extinction. "Extinction" was the buzz word all around. Imagine - our off springs oohing and aahing over a painting or a sculpture of a Panda Bear or a giraffe like the way we do over Dinosaurs, except we are not responsible for their disappearance? Wouldn't it be a sorry situation? And may be turkeys would disappear too one day and tigers. Or to make it a very effective hyperbole, may be all animals would cease to exist and all that remains is just us - the homo sapience.
Back to the spot light - Panda bears are carnivore and live on Bamboo - a type of grass (though it appears to be on steroids) but they gulp down the occasional small mammal they come across.
They are playful and curious animals.
I for one, am in the smitten spree, and make sure to pick up the occasional stuffed panda, the trinket box panda, the hand puppet panda, panda on the coffee mug or panda on the watch face just as an evidence of my awe.
We as humans, should do our part to co-exist with other species in nature - or all we leave back as a legacy would be hand painted Panda Bear mugs for our kids.

Shown in this pic are my recent acquisition - a pair of hand painted Panda Bear mugs (shown front and back!)