Mary Exley, age 10, of Ft. Calhoun, Neb., for her question:

IS THE PANDA FOUND IN THE UNITED STATES?

The giant panda is one of the rarest large animals in the world. He looks like a giant black and white toy bear, but he is actually not a bear at all. He is related to the raccoon. He also has a relative that is much smaller in size, but is equally rare.

Two different animals, but each called panda, are found in the same region in the mountains of western China and in no other part of the world one is called the common, or lesser panda. He is a small, raccoon like animal about the size of a large cat with fur of bright red except for white markings on the face. He has a thick tail ringed with red and yellow. He has a broad, rounded head with prominent ears and feet that are complete with large claws and furred soles.

The common panda likes bamboo sprouts for dinner, and occasionally adds eggs to his diet. He is a skillful climber and has a gentle disposition, although when angry he will spit and hiss like a cat. The Chinese, as a matter of fact, call him "fire cat."

The giant panda is black and white and bearlike in appearance. He was long considered a myth until 100 years ago when he was officially put into the record books. It wasn't until 1936 that the first live panda was captured and lived in captivity.

Very playful as a youngster but dangerous when grown, the giant panda reaches his full size in about five years. He can weigh as much as 300 pounds when he is an adult.

The giant panda lives in the mountains of Szechwan and Yunnan provinces of China at an altitude of from 6,000 to 10,000 feet. Bamboo seems to be his only food. In the spring and summer he eats the tender shoots, and in the fall and winter he eats the leaves and stalks. He does not hibernate but chooses to roam over the snow during the winter.

Although they are Chinese natives, a number of giant pandas are now living in the United States. The two most famous were a gift to the American people from China in 1972 and live at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. They are called Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing and, hopefully, one of these years they will produce a baby panda. Other giant pandas are in the New York Zoological Park and Chicago's Brookfield Zoo.

One of the most famous pandas in the United States was Pandora, the resident since 1938 of the New York Zoological Park. During the New York World's Fair, Pandora was moved to the fairgrounds and became the hit of the show. Thousands of people enjoyed watching her playful antics and entertaining ways.