Mashups of two different but familiar stories are a common basis for internet videos, often because they are just plain strange. Can you imagine any stranger combination than Mad Max and Kung Fu Panda? Wastelander Panda is the story of a fighting panda set in a post-apocalyptic world. Epic Films produced this as part of a TV series in development. -Thanks, Marcus!

Panda Knit Mask | $12.95

Hey there, panda bear! How cool it is to stay warm with the Panda Knit Mask over your head -on the ski slopes or on the way to school. This 100% acrylic, machine washable ski mask is available at the NeatoShop. Roll it up like a hat, or roll it down and see out the holes to keep your face warm. To keep your whole family warm (and still tell them apart), check out the entire selection of knit ski masks from the NeatoShop.

Link

Still think that pandas are cute and cuddly animals that eat only bamboo? Surely it poses no threat to other wildlife, right? Well think again: this wild panda in China was videotaped eating a dead animal:

Captured on an infrared camera in the Laohegou forest area, the panda appears to find a dead wildebeest in a gulley and gnaws on its bones for two hours.
Pandas are typically known to eat only bamboo shoots, but according to Chen Youping, deputy director of Forestry Department of Pingwu County, it is not unknown for the beasts to eat meat.

"The reason why pandas eat meat is because it used to eat meat millions of years ago," he said.

"Now they mainly eat bamboos, but we occasionally see bones of dead animals in pandas' excrement during our years of field work," he added.

Link | Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]

A red panda decided to move in with a family in the suburbs of Leshan, Sichuan Province, China, last week. The homeowners were watching the wild panda as they ate a meal outside, and slowly approached to get a better look. The panda ran into the house through an open door, and made himself at home. The word spread, and neighbors came to have their pictures made with the panda. Local authorities took the panda and released him into the wild within a few days. Link -via Arbroath

Authorities said there is no cause for concern.

“We want to assure all citizens of Flagstaff that there is no problem with rogue pandas,” said Lt. Ken Koch with the Flagstaff Police Department.

He does, however, encourage anybody who spots a member of the endangered species roaming Flagstaff streets to call the police department.

The sign, which had been altered in the middle of the night, was corrected by 11 AM. No suspects have been identified. The good news is that the publicity may cause motorists to read electronic signs more carefully in the future. Link -via Arbroath

(Image credit: Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun)

Quick, guess which one is the real panda! Tao Tao is a giant panda born at the Wolong Panda wild training base in China, but he has never seen a human face. His caretakers have always dressed in panda costumes any time they were around him! They are training Tao Tao for a life in the wild bamboo forest. See more pictures at Shortlist, where you can also see a video of Tao Tao’s birth and first year. Link -via Buzzfeed

William Chua or Xiaobaosg is a Singaporean artist who described himself as a "kidult illustrator", but the first word that came to my mind was "phenomenal." Here’s his series called Panda Revolution, where he put a cute panda in vintage propaganda posters.

My Modern Met has a gallery of his artwork: Link | If you like his work, you can buy ‘em here.

Panda Earmuffs – $5.95

Are you a ferocious beast with a soft and cuddly side just like the Panda?  Express your inner animal with the Panda Plush Earmuffs from the NeatoShop.  They will protect your adorable lobes from all those nasty springtime chills.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fabulous Headwear!

(YouTube link)

This is one of those stories where the headline sort of says it all. Well, here’s some context – it’s not CGI, it’s not a 3D Pixar movie, and it walks a fine line between adorable and menacing.

An Atlanta Zoo panda having a hell of a time scratching his back against a pile of tree trunks ends up looking like he’s dancing. Or doing something lewd.

Link

The miniature panda cow is the result of 44 years of genetic manipulation by Richard Gradwohl, a farmer in Covington, Wash., about 20 miles southeast of Seattle.

A white belt encircling the animal’s midsection, and the white face with black ovals around the eyes, give the cow an appearance that is very much panda-like.

And if you wonder why people breed mini cows, the answer is that they’re used as pets.

Tom Hacker of Reporter-Herald has the story: Link (Photo: Tom Hacker/Reporter-Herald) – via Arbroath (who has a video clip of the mini panda cow)

At several sites across the country, commercial aquariums and animal parks are painting their animals in panda colors to keep up visitor numbers in the face of tougher competition — as well as educate people about the threats elephants and crocodiles face in the wild.

Mr. Kamla, a 25-year-old crocodile-handler, fielded a barrage of questions from schoolchildren recently at Buengchawark Underwater Sea Paradise as he and a colleague painted a three-month-old Siamese crocodile in panda colors.

“They’re an endangered species, too, like the panda, so we hope some of our knowledge will trickle down,” Mr. Kamla says.

Prasit Vejprasit, an administrator at the aquarium, says busloads of schoolchildren — the mainstay of the aquarium’s business — continue coming to the site, a couple of hours’ travel northwest of Bangkok, encouraged in large part by the panda-colored crocs. He says teachers often call to confirm the aquarium is still painting crocodiles before sending their classes.

The children seem to enjoy the novelty. “Most crocodiles are scary but this one is cute,” says Siripob Dara, 9 years old, before he asks Mr. Kamla how long it can grow and what it eats.

Link -via Dark Roasted Blend

(Image credit: James Hookway/The Wall Street Journal)

Previously at Neatorama: Panda-painted Elephants

After a caravan to the airport and a ride past dozens of waiting photographers, Mei Lan was lifted into the 777 Freighter emblazoned with panda logos. Shortly after 8 a.m., the door was closed, the plane taxied and the flight took off.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed agreed it was fine to be “reflective, or even wistful” about Mei Lan’s departure, but important, too, to remember that she’s a healthy member of an endangered species, and by moving to China, she can help her kind survive. (Reeds advice to her: “be fruitful and multiply.”) Scientists estimate there are about 1,600 Giant Pandas in the wild. About 300 live in captivity, mostly in China.

Three giant pandas remain at the Atlanta Zoo, Mei Lan’s parents and an infant. Link -via Metafilter

More on Mei Lan.

More on Tai Shan.

Last month, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) UK launched a project called Pandamonium, where they asked artists to "reinvent" the iconic panda logo of the organization, to be auctioned off October 12.

Various pandas are being displayed at Selfridges on London’s Oxford Street, though if you can’t make it there you can always visit WWF-UK’s Pandamonium Flickr set.

More info at WWF-UK official Pandamonium page – Thanks Ross!

BuzzFeed has got the video clip (I bet Martin Scorsese is checking his brows right now to see if they’re still there …)

Link [embedded Liveleak video clip]

Photo via Cute Overload

W00t! For today’s Neatorama and Hobotopia’s Caption Monkey contest, we have this incredibly cute photo via Megan Frost’s awesome blog Cute Overload.

Contest rules are simple: place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Funniest comment will win a free Laugh-Out-Loud Cat comic by Adam Koford.

For inspiration, be sure to check out Adam’s blog (and be on the look out for his newest book: The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out) Good luck!

Update 3/19/09 – Congratulations to janedoh who won with this caption: “And to our left folks we have the rarely seen and endangered Boneless Panda.”