In English it is always known as a giant panda but Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are still divided over what to call the animal they adore the most.
Mainland people call it xiong mao, or 'bear-cat'. In Taiwan it is mao xiong - the 'cat-bear'.
Whatever they are called, two giant pandas arrive in Taipei today as a goodwill gift from Beijing.
Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, whose names said together mean 'reunion', are supposed to help cross-strait reconciliation. But scientists remain undecided about their origins.
Feng Zuojian , a panda specialist and vice-president of the China Zoological Society, said: 'The scientific community does not have a simple, straightforward and definite answer as to what a panda is yet. But I don't think it is a problem for the public. They should tolerate the different names in other societies.'
Sichuan Agricultural University anthropologist Lin Hongrong said the first European who described a giant panda, Father Armand David, called it a 'black and white bear' in 1869.