America’s number one movie is spreading lies about pandas! Kung Fu Panda earns an A for laughs but doesn't always get its facts straight. We asked our staff expert, Lynne Warren, author of the 2006 article "Panda, Inc.," to discuss how real pandas differ from (and resemble) the movie version.

They are lazy.
In the film, the promise of noodles motivates Po the panda to learn the splits and high kicks of the martial arts. In reality, nothing really motivates pandas to be active. When eating bamboo, they prefer to sit and lean back against a tree or rock or some other backdrop. Scientists have seen pandas pass by areas full of bamboo because there’s simply no place to sit and chomp. In conclusion: “Pandas may be the laziest creatures in the universe," says Warren. Warning: The next sentence is rated R: Male pandas have been known to interrupt their coupling because they are just too … yawn … tired.

They are bamboo-a-vores.
So, no noodles! Pandas in the wild eat pretty much bamboo, bamboo, and bamboo, with the occasional insect or rodent ingested along with the stalks. In zoos, fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes are added to the menu for nutritional reasons.

They smell great and so does their poop!
Shifu, the red panda who trains movie panda Po in the martial arts, repeatedly tells the bear that he stinks. Pandas are not particularly smelly. Nor is their feces: It’s basically bamboo bound up with mucus-like substances.

Black and white helps keep them hidden.
The panda color scheme seems cartoonish. In fact, in the shadows of a forest, the coloring offers great camouflage.

Pandas are agile.
They may not be able to use chopsticks, as Po does in the film, but their paws are nimble, used to strip leaves from bamboo and roll them into small bundles for a snack. And while they don’t do kung fu, they can move with speed and grace. One scientist caught a glimpse of a panda in the wild, slipping into the forest, and decided to follow. Within minutes, the scientist was unable to move in the dense undergrowth. But the panda was out of sight.

-Tammie R. Smith

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