Pandas use tools to scratch thanks to a strange evolutionary quirk

Giant pandas have been seen using twigs or pieces of bamboo to scratch themselves. Besides an old anecdotal report of giant pandas rubbing dirt on their fur, this is the first recorded case of tool use in these animals, says Bin Yang of the Shaanxi Institute of Zoology in China.

“Because pandas spend a lot of time eating and resting, they give the impression of being lazy, greedy and cute,” says Yang. “So when we discovered that pandas could use tools, it changed our view of them.”

Yang and his colleagues had noticed this behavior in other work and decided to learn more. They recorded 383 instances of tool use over 50 days of observation of 18 giant pandas in captivity (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in a zoo in China, including both males and females.

Pandas mainly used twigs or pieces of bamboo that they broke from trees, and almost always for scratching. This meant they could scrape hard-to-reach body parts without tools.

Since this zoo’s giant pandas live in a naturalistic outdoor environment, Yang says wild pandas may also use tools in this way, although no sightings of wild pandas doing this have yet been reported.

Unlike other bears, pandas have a “false thumb” on their paws, a sixth digit much shorter than the human thumb, which allows them to grasp objects in a way that other bears cannot. Pandas have relatively large brains – breaking sticks specifically to use them as tools suggests an ability for short-term planning, researchers say.

“Pandas may have more complex knowledge and behaviors than previously thought,” says Yang, but more work would be needed to learn more about this behavior, including whether they can be induced to use tools.