Japanese red panda....just standing around

Upright panda becomes latest Japanese star with its great pair of legs
at 4:41 on June 2, 2005, EST.



Futa is shown in March, 2005. (AP/Chiba Zoological Park, HO, File)

TOKYO (AP) - Futa has a great pair of legs - they've won him fans across Japan, spots on nighttime news and now the starring role in an upcoming TV commercial.

Since the two-year-old red panda was photographed standing upright on his hind legs by a national newspaper earlier this month, Futa has become the toast of animal lovers in Japan. "We never expected such a reaction. We're at a bit of a loss," said Masanori Kobayashi, an official at Chiba Zoological Park, which has seen a jump in visitors due to Futa's popularity.

Futa took on his first television role this week, posing in a 6 1/2-hour shoot for an advertisement for a soft-drink company that will be aired nationwide this summer. The zoo received about 66,000 yen, or the equivalent of about $600 US for the day.

There have also been eight requests from companies wanting to produce stuffed animals, postcards and other goods in Futa's image, said zoo spokesman Kazuhiro Nozawa.

Futa, standing 60 centimetres when upright, sports a dark reddish-brown coat and white face - similar in appearance to a raccoon, a distant cousin of the red panda.

While Kobayashi said it's not unusual for red pandas to stand, Futa seems to have caught the attention of the Japanese public with their penchant for cute, furry animals.

But fame does have its downside. With as many as 6,000 people flocking to the zoo on weekends, officials are afraid the publicity will affect Futa's ability to mate. Futa was brought from another zoo in Shizuoka prefecture to pair with a female red panda in Chiba.

"His primary purpose here is to mate," said Nozawa. "But he seems really tired."

Red pandas come from the Himalayan mountains around Burma, China and Nepal. Like their cousins, the giant panda, they feed on bamboo and walk on all fours. Their population in the wild is being threatened by a loss of habitat.