Pandas on Tour 2 Favorite 

Grangeon's long-running traveling exhibit, Pandas on Tour, features 1600 papier-mâché pandas. That's approximately one for as many as there are left in the world (recent estimates actually place the number slightly below that, at 1596).

Each papier-mâché sculpture represents a single panda that’s left in the wild. The installation’s purpose is to raise awareness about animal conservation in the panda’s home country, but the googly-eyed creatures are also a reminder of why we love pandas so much: they’re possibly the cutest animal on the planet.

Launched in 2008 in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, Grangeon’s project has traveled to landmarks in more than 20 countries, including the Eiffel Tower. 2014 June marks its first foray into Hong Kong, where the pandas will visit such hotspots as Hong Kong International Airport and the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island.

The exhibit toured Taiwan previously in 2014, leading to poignant photo ops as the paper bears spread into city gardens and down sidewalks not far from where the few remaining wild ones actually roam.

Because pandas are so elusive in the wild, it's difficult to know exactly how many exist. What we do know is that it's very difficult to coax them to mate in captivity. Furthermore, their native habitats are disappearing as global warming and human activities like mining and mass tourism encroach further into Chinese forest land.