Panda Paws
Posted at 9:44 am January 10, 2007 by Kay Ferguson
I enjoy watching the pandas eat. They get so involved in their food, just like a lot of us! Each panda here at the San Diego Zoo has its own eating habits. Bai Yun uses her right paw to eat most of the time, unless she is selecting bamboo from the bottom of the pile–then she uses both paws to dig through the bamboo to her favorite species. She does not spend quite as many hours eating as Gao Gao (pictured), who seems to be a south paw and seldom uses his right one unless he is really searching the pile of bamboo for the best; he always eats his favorite first! Mei Sheng favors his right paw and sticks to that most of the time. He loves to eat and will spend hours eating, just like his father, Gao Gao.
Su Lin really hasn't made up her mind which paw she likes best, so she continues to switch between the two on a daily basis. She is so funny when it comes to eating: she will select a piece of bamboo then climb up in the tree to relax and eat. Sometimes she will sit with her mother and eat, but she really is attached to that tree of hers.
I have looked back through my photos to see which paw each panda preferred to eat with. But just about the time you think you know them, they do the opposite and it is always a guessing game with the bears!
Hua Mei used her right paw just like her mom, Bai Yun. She is now seven years old and lives in China. And Shi Shi, our adult male now back in China, preferred his left paw and was very selective with his bamboo. I just loved this grouchy bear; he seemed to grumble about most things as he was old and his teeth were not the best.
The next time you see the pandas eat, watch what paw they use!
Kay Ferguson is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.
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January 10th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Thanks for the information Kay. They are only human after all hee hee !! I will be watching more closely now to see which paw is used.
I wonder if it is " copying" Mum or just instinct to use the stronger paw ? Very interesting.
Valerie x
January 10th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Thanks again, Kay, for the interesting info. I love these tidbits. Somehow, even though I can't be there, I feel a part of it all. Thanks
January 10th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Thanks, Kay, for the fascinating information. I have noticed that each bear has their own way of selecting the bamboo stalk they want next. Sometimes they bite a piece off only to spit it out and grab a new piece. I wonder if there is a flavor, or scent to each that they individually prefer? Since they each have different scent block preferences maybe they also have bamboo scent preferences. Shi Shi's lack of smell sensitivity might explain his pickiness about his food.
What do you have to do to train Mei Sheng for his journey and transition to Wolong's bamboo? I noticed in the video on Nature Channel about Mai Xiang and Tian Tian that they were surprised but happy that they adapted to the local bamboo so quickly. Do you send extra with Mei Sheng for his journey to China to have on the trip and also when he arrives? Or, do they feed him local Chinese bamboo immediately? Have you started to get him used to the crate he will travel in? It is sad to think of him leaving, but I am sure there is a lot of special transitional training that he must go through in addition to the voluminous paperwork involved. He is such a good-natured panda that he must be a pleasure to work with and train new behaviours. In the video they showed the pandas on the flight from Wolong, and they ate and slept as if they were back home in their regular habitat. I guess if you have to eat for so much of the day every day, you just do what you have to do wherever you are.
January 10th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Kay, thanks for the enjoyable update. It looks like both panda daddies are south paws. As many times as I have seen Gao Gao eat, I had never noticed this til you pointed it out!
January 11th, 2007 at 1:41 am
I really like it when the pandas get a long piece of bamboo, then twirl it until it is positioned just right for them to chow down. It's like watching a fanfare with a twist.
Usually, then, they cut it in half with their teeth and sit down in their reclining pose to munch away.
I see them do this with either paw, and sometimes both.
January 11th, 2007 at 11:19 am
I was wondering also about Mei Sheng. His journey to China will be soon I am sure. Is there any word when that will be?
Also Su Lin will be weaned soon no doubt. Is there any word on when that will be?
Thanks for all the information you provide on these lovable creatures.
January 11th, 2007 at 11:42 am
kay, who would have thought of watching what hand the pandas eat with but our wonderful panda people. It is something that I never would have thought of because i am just too interested in watching those marvelous faces. I am always amused by the way that Gao Gao goes about eating, He sometimes twirls his bamboo like he is leading a band. Now i will have to be a little more observant when watching.
January 12th, 2007 at 4:40 am
Barbara, on Gao Gao's leading a band idea…..I have seen him at times with a stick of boo in each paw, an intense look on his face, and looking for all the world like he is playing air drums! Gotta love this funny, handsome and smart panda daddy!
January 12th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Lisa, I agree he's the man.
January 15th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I was just observing Mei Xiang and Tai Shan. She seems to grab and hold long stalks with her right paw, and munch and manipulate with her left. Tai Shan seems to use both paws to grab and eat, but manipulates with his right.
January 15th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Did any of the SDZ cubs do much exploring with their mouth of bamboo prior to being out on exhibit with their moms? I was amazed to see Mei Lan really playing with many different forms of bamboo this afternoon. She would pick it up with her mouth, and then drop it like a toy. I watched to see if she tried to pick at it with a paw, but didn't notice her using her paws other than to scratch at it. I wasn't clued in about the panda cams when the other USA cubs were so small, so I missed their early introduction to bamboo.
January 30th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
i like the pandas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!