Giant Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Status: Vulnerable. As of 2021, giant pandas have been downgraded in risk from Endangered to Vulnerable. There is still a ways to go for their successful safety, but due to large conservation efforts and the charismatic megafauna status of these creatures as emblematic spokes-creature for all endangered species, there is some small good news.
Tibetan legend tells of how giant pandas were once snow white. This gentle creature was out roaming with its cub one day when a leopard launched itself in attack. Nearby shepherdesses were tending their flocks and happened to see, and swiftly they came to the defense of the panda and her young, to beat off the leopard with their sticks. Alas, the brave shepherdesses were slain in their rally.
It was the custom of mourning to rub black ash on the body, and so all the giant pandas in the area came forth to the memorial for the brave shepherdesses. They took ashes in their paws, and rubbed their eyes, and covered their ears in sadness at the morning cries, and embraced each other across the back in comfort. Ever after, the black markings of the ash have marked the fur of the giant pandas as a reminder of the sacrifice undergone by the girls to save one of their number.
References:
http://www.curiousordinary.com/2021/05/pandas.html
https://www.earthstoriez.com/china-panda-history-mythology/