Mark McCollom, age 8, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for his question:

Is a panda real?

A cuddly toy panda looks too good to be true. But actually he is copied from a real live animal. You won't meet a real panda wandering through the wondrous woods of Pennsylvania. He is a very rare animal and he lives in a faraway forgotten place on the other side of the world. Besides, he is very shy and tries very hard to keep out of sight.

Actually, there are two real animals called pandas. One is about as big as a cat and he looks somewhat like a raccoon. The other is as big as a bear and he was the model for our cuddly toy pandas. They call him the giant panda because he is six feet tall and may weigh as much as 300 pounds. He wears a silky white coat, with black stockings and a neat black shawl around his shoulders. His big round face is white. But his little round ears are jet black and he wears a black patch around each eye.

Only a very few pandas live in zoos and there are not many of them living in the wilds. To visit one in his native home, you would have to travel through the rugged mountains of China or Tibet. There the bright sun shines on patches of white snow and casts black shadows among the rocks. The patchy black and white panda blends in with the scenery. Most of the time he hides among the straggly bamboos that grow there. When hungry, he eats their grassy leaves and chews their stringy stalks. Sometimes he helps himself to a few bird eggs and once in a while he catches a fish from a mountain stream.

Naturally, many people would like to capture this remarkable animal. But the people of China refuse to let this happen. First one, then another panda would be taken and soon all of them would be gone. So about 20 years ago, the Chinese passed stern laws to protect their precious pandas. They keep a few in their zoos and two of these have had baby pandas. But they are not for sale. Only one or two pandas still live in zoos outside China.

One enjoys a pampered life in the London Zoo. Like ail pandas, she is a friendly character and a bit clownish in her ways. She enjoys her visitors and always tries to entertain them. They love to watch her eat, because she uses her paddy paws like hands. Sometimes she squats on her fat bottom, nibbling like a squirrel. Sometimes she lies on her back and piles her food on her tummy. Then she takes her time, eating stalks of celery and such, bite by bite.

The London Zoo paid $28,000 for its precious panda and this was some years ago. Nowadays a zoo would pay almost anything to get one. It has been hinted that China may give one or perhaps two pandas to the United States, to honor the visit that President and Mrs. Nixon made to their country. This may or may not happen. If it does not, let's not feel too disappointed. We can think about a real one, every time we admire a patchy toy panda.