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. Other than an old anecdotal report about giant pandas rubbing dirt into their fur, this is the first recorded instance of tool use among these animals, says Bin Yang at the Shaanxi Institute of Zoology in China.

“Because pandas spend a lot of time eating and resting, they give the impression of being lazy, fond of food and cute,” says Yang. “So, when we discovered that pandas can use tools, it changed our previous perspective about them.”

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

The pandas mostly used twigs or pieces of bamboo they broke off trees, and almost always to scratch. This meant they could scratch parts of the body that would be hard to reach without the tools.

Since the giant pandas at this zoo live in a naturalistic outdoor setting, Yang says wild pandas may also use tools in this way, although no observations 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 human thumbs that allows them to grasp objects in a way that other bears can’t. Pandas have relatively large brains – the breaking off of sticks specifically to use as tools suggests a capacity for short-term planning, the researchers say.

“Pandas might have more complex cognition and behaviours than previously thought,” says Yang, but more work would be needed to learn more about this behaviour, including whether they can be directed to use tools.