Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

MHC class II genes influence the gut microbiota of wild golden snub-nosed monkeys.

BMC microbiology·2026

Same author

Personality, social behavior, and the maintenance of cohesion in a multilevel-society primate ( <i>Rhinopithecus roxellana</i>).

Zoological research·2026

Same author

Adaptive Genetic Variation in Black-and-White Snub-Nosed Monkeys (<i>Rhinopithecus bieti</i>): Low Diversity and the Role of Balancing Selection.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

Incomplete lineage sorting shaped mixed traits during a colobine primate radiation.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

A primate multilevel society exhibits distinct cortical molecular signatures.

Science China. Life sciences·2026

Same author

Correction: Cao et al. Evidence for Semantic Communication in Alarm Calls of Wild Sichuan Snub-Nosed Monkeys. <i>Biology</i> 2025, <i>14</i>, 1028.

Biology·2025

Same journal

An adaptable, self-organizing, single-cell morphology circuit optimizes suctorian predatory trap structure.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same journal

Temporal tuning of switch-like virulence expression resolves environmental uncertainty through phenotypic heterogeneity.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same journal

An abstract relational map emerges in the human medial prefrontal cortex with consolidation.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same journal

Phloem evolved gradually and asynchronously to xylem in early vascular plants.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same journal

Tracing the origins of crmA megasynthase through lichen genomes.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same journal

Planar cell polarity-directed cell crawling drives polarized epithelial morphogenesis.

Current biology : CB·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 14, 2026

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

Published on: July 8, 2025

Self-directed tool use by giant pandas.

Bin Yang¹, James R Anderson², Xin-Yu Meng³

¹Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Qinling Ecological Security, Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an 710032, China.

Current Biology : CB

|October 21, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Giant pandas, rarely known for tool use, show new evidence of self-directed tool use. Their unique

More Related Videos

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Published on: November 11, 2011

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 14, 2026

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

Published on: July 8, 2025

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Published on: November 11, 2011

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

Area of Science:

Ethology
Animal Behavior
Primatology

Background:

Tool use is extensively studied across ecological, social, cognitive, and evolutionary domains.
Primates are the most common mammalian tool users, exhibiting diverse applications.
Ursids, including giant pandas, exhibit rare tool use, with only anecdotal evidence of self-directed behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate novel instances of tool use in giant pandas.
To explore the potential influence of specialized morphology on tool use behavior.

Main Methods:

Observation of eighteen captive giant pandas.
Documentation of self-directed tool use behaviors.

Main Results:

New evidence confirms self-directed tool use in eighteen captive giant pandas.
This finding contrasts with the historically limited documentation of tool use in this species.

Conclusions:

Captive giant pandas demonstrate tool use capabilities.
The specialized morphology of giant pandas, particularly their 'false thumb', may facilitate tool manipulation.