Rare brown panda grows up in NW China

In today's trending, a rare brown panda bear from northwest China celebrates its fifth birthday, a group of foreign men get an early start on Chinese Valentine's Day by taking a stroll with buffalo, a crane calls for assistance after it becomes upended trying to move a truck and a woman gives up her bus seat to her pet dog, stirring up controversy.

A brown panda is pictured in this file photo taken on Sept 23, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

Rare brown panda grows up in NW China

When you hear the word "panda", you usually think of a cute black-and-white bear. An exception to that rule just celebrated a birthday.

An extremely rare brown panda, discovered by Chinese researchers in the Qinling Mountains in Northwest China, turned 5 years old, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

The panda, named Qi Zai, is the fifth brown panda found in China since 1985.

Qi Zai was initially discovered by researchers in the Qinling Mountains as a 2-month-old cub after its mother left and vanished in the forest.

The researchers then took it to a nearby animal rescue and breeding research center in the Qinling Mountains.

Scientists haven't found the exact reason for the color change to the panda's fur, but some scholars think it might have something to do with a genetic mutation.

The brown panda is pictured in this file photo taken on Sept 23, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

Next up: Foreign fellows take a pre-Qixi stroll through downtown Wuhan with buffalo.