Which bear appears in the logo of the World Wide Fund for Nature?

A giant panda appears in the logo of the World Wide Fund for Nature. The black-and-white panda became WWF’s emblem because it was visually recognizable, suitable for monochrome printing and strongly associated with endangered wildlife.

The logo was inspired by Chi Chi, a giant panda transferred to London Zoo in 1958. At the time, she was the only giant panda living in the Western world, making her a highly visible symbol for a new international conservation organization. Naturalist and artist Sir Peter Scott created the formal logo from preliminary work by Gerald Watterson.

WWF was founded in 1961 as the World Wildlife Fund. In 1986, it adopted the name World Wide Fund for Nature in many countries while retaining the initials WWF; the United States and Canada continued using World Wildlife Fund.

The animal is sometimes confused with other bears, especially polar bears because of conservation campaigns or spectacled bears because of their distinctive facial markings. WWF’s emblem, however, is specifically the giant panda.