Home›Articles›Bear, Raccoon, or Neither: The Giant Panda's Contested Family TreeArticlesBear, Raccoon, or Neither: The Giant Panda's Contested Family TreeCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextNature Atlas. "Bear, Raccoon, or Neither: The Giant Panda's Contested Family Tree." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/articles/giant-panda-bear-raccoon-or-neither.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextNature Atlas. (n.d.). Bear, Raccoon, or Neither: The Giant Panda's Contested Family Tree. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/articles/giant-panda-bear-raccoon-or-neitherCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{natureatlas-bear-raccoon-or-neither-the-giant-panda, author = {Nature Atlas}, title = {Bear, Raccoon, or Neither: The Giant Panda's Contested Family Tree}, year = {2026}, url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/articles/giant-panda-bear-raccoon-or-neither}, note = {Accessed September 8, 2026} }Copy BibTeXCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Cross-Tradition ConnectionsArticle OnGiant Panda, Species Well-attested SourcesEncyclopaedia Britannicatier 1Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Conservation and classification sectionQuote, Conservation and classification sectionThe classification of giant pandas has long been a subject of controversy. Anatomic, behavioral, and biochemical data have been used to place pandas with bears (family Ursidae), with raccoons (Procyonidae), or in a family of their own (Ailuridae). Improved molecular analyses made during the 1990s strongly suggest bears as the giant panda's closest relatives, and many of their behavioral and reproductive characteristics are consistent with this placement.View the SourceNature Atlas Long-Form Articles, First EditionComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year