Because in Chinese, "red panda" is another animal:

Red panda (xiaoxiongmao) (Ailurus fulgens) is a vertebrate, Mammalia, Carnivora, Raccoonidae. The body is larger than that of a cat, 60 to 62 centimeters long. The tail is thick, 40 to 45 centimeters long, and has 9 brown and white rings, so it is commonly known as the "nine-section wolf". Weight is about 9 kg. The head is round and the limbs are thick and short. The fur on the back is reddish brown, the belly and limbs are dark brown, the ears are white, the face has white spots, and the nose is black. The soles of the feet are hairy, which helps in climbing. It lives on high mountains between 1,600 and 3,000 meters and is good at climbing trees. It feeds on rhizomes, arrow bamboo stems and leaves, bamboo shoots, young leaves and fruits, as well as small birds and bird eggs. Mostly active in trees. Hearing, smell and vision are all less sensitive. They come into estrus in spring and give birth to 1 to 3 cubs in summer. It is distributed in Sichuan, Yunnan, eastern Tibet, Qinghai and other provinces in my country. Due to its rare production, it is one of the rare animals. It has been listed as a national second-level protected animal. The red panda is also called "little panda".

Bear is often called "little"... This doesn't seem so absolute, right? Maybe people think it's cute and call it small.