Why does the WWF logo feature a panda?

The World Wildlife Fund was founded in UK by Sir Peter Scott, a British naturalist and painter, in 1961. The WWF got the idea of using Chi-Chi, a female giant panda at London Zoo. The team felt “the big, furry animal with her appealing, black-patched eyes” would make an excellent logo. Another reason was to minimize printing costs (it needed just black and white).