Is panda "a kind of a bear" or "a kind of bear"?

Question

Or, perhaps, it's not a kind at all? A type maybe?

A panda isn't a kind of a bear or a kind of bear at all. It's a kind of raccoon. — Brian Hooper, Jan 15 '11 at 08:52
@Brian Hooper: "A panda isn't a kind of a bear or a kind of bear at all. It's a kind of raccoon." - Are you sure? I was asking this question based on the definition in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda and there panda is called a bear — brilliant, Jan 15 '11 at 08:56
@Brian: According to Wikipedia, a panda is family ursidae, precisely the bear family. Racoons are in another genus and family (procyonidae) altogether. — ShreevatsaR, Jan 15 '11 at 10:09
Genetic studies have only put the giant panda in the bear family in the last 25 years. Before that, it was indeed considered to be part of the raccoon family. Who would've thought such knowledge could go out of date! — chimp, Jan 15 '11 at 12:35
I could swear there's a Winnie the Pooh quote to be found on this matter...also, consider: "what kind of a man are you?" — Jon Purdy, Jan 15 '11 at 18:56
@Brian Hooper: it's just occurred to me that perhaps you were thinking of the red panda, which was originally classified as a raccoon. — psmears, Feb 05 '11 at 20:36

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 15 '11 at 10:19

(Saying "type" in place of "kind" would work equally well in these examples.)

But not:

(Saying "a panda is kind of a bear" would be a colloquial way of saying that is in some way like a bear, but isn't one really.)

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