The WWF refutes the heresy of Packham the Pandacide.
You know what gets me about pandas? When relations between China and the rest of the world started thawing in the seventies, Beijing used to spray pandas around as a reward for just paying a visit. That seemed to stop when Deng or someone realised what a valuable resource they were and began to restrict the supply. You don’t get a panda these days just for showing up. It was exactly at this point that visiting heads of state stopped asking for pandas and starting asking for political prisoners. The supply was greater so the goods were cheaper, and you could go home with a gift under your arm.
Rumour says that the only reason the panda was chosen in the first place at WWF was because you could photocopy it in black and white, and publishers had taken (for the same reason) the zebra, puffin, and penguin.
Posted by: JamesP | October 03, 2009 at 03:12 AM
puffin?
Posted by: Chris Williams | October 03, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Kiddie imprint of Penguin, wasn't it?
Or was that Pelican?
Posted by: Richard J | October 03, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Puffin books still is that.
I guess a magpie has negative connotations. As does the killer whale, which is also too large to photocopy.
Posted by: Neil | October 03, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Presumably whoever owns the rights to Postman Pat would have something to say should a cat have been chosen.
What's wrong with a lemur, though?
Posted by: Tom | October 03, 2009 at 05:37 PM
As does the killer whale, which is also too large to photocopy.
That was always the point at which you knew the Sea World office party had gone too far.
Posted by: ajay | October 05, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Ha!
Posted by: Richard J | October 05, 2009 at 10:18 AM