Now new research suggests that the mole's second thumb, just like the Giant panda's, is a fake.

BBC: Mystery of mole's second thumb solved

Coming in second behind Fox is Po, the panda from Kung Fu Panda who was voiced by Jack Black.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Other Asian species which depend on bamboo for food or for shelter include the red panda and the world's second smallest bat, the lesser bamboo bat (Tylonycteris pachypus), which is 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) long.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | UN alert on threat to wild bamboo

In today's world, the giant panda and the mole are anomalies among vertebrates: both have a second thumb, giving them a total of 12 digits.

BBC: Mystery of mole's second thumb solved

The cub, conceived through artificial insemination, was 14-year-old mother Mei Xiang's second in seven years with 15-year-old Tian Tian, the zoo's male giant panda.

CNN: Panda cub dies at Smithsonian's National Zoo