How Can You Tell the National Zoo’s Giant Pandas Apart?

Not many animals look like a giant panda. With their black eye patches, round faces and an overall teddy bear-like appearance, these rare and vulnerable animals are instantly recognizable.

But when it comes to telling two pandas apart from each other? “It can get tricky,” says giant panda keeper and panda expert Mariel Lally.

Qing Bao and Bao Li, the two pandas who are now living at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, look quite similar to the untrained eye. But there are some subtle differences that help you tell which panda is which. See if you can spot them when you’re visiting the Zoo or watching the Giant Panda Cam!

Physical differences

If you looked at both bears standing next to each other, you’d notice Bao Li, the male, is the larger of the two. Qing Bao, the female, is smaller. “She’s petite for a panda her age,” said Lally. 

But you probably won’t be able to compare them side-by-side. Bao Li and Qing Bao live apart from each other, just like wild pandas do. Male and female adults usually only interact with each other during the yearly 48-hour window when a female is receptive to breeding attempts. (Right now, both of the Zoo’s pandas are a little young for that, but the Zoo’s animal care team plans to see if they’ll breed in the future, she says.)

Fortunately, there are some other features you can hunt for:

Qing Bao's birthmark

Looking at the bear’s backside? See if you can find Qing Bao’s “birth marks” – there are two distinctive dark patches in the white fur on her left hip.

Face Shape

Bao Li’s (left) cheeks aren’t as fluffy as Qing Bao’s (right).

Eye Patches

The pandas’ eye patches have subtle differences. Bao Li (left) has wider patches, with pointy tips that flare out a bit more than Qing Bao’s (right).

Back Bands

You can also try looking at their backs. Both pandas have a black band that starts with their front legs and wraps across their back. Bao Li (left) has a thicker band that pinches in the middle. Qing Bao’s (right) is thin across her upper back.

Behavioral differences

Lally says the two animals also have their own personality quirks.

Bao Li is outgoing, playful, curious and attention-seeking. He’s very vocal with keepers and will ‘bleat’ to them as a greeting call.

“If you hear a panda vocalizing to a keeper, that’s probably Bao Li,” says Lally.

Meanwhile, Qing Bao is ‘Miss Independent’—she’s more reserved and likes doing her own thing, said Lally. She loves to climb trees, and sometimes brings her enrichment toys up in the tree with her.

“If you see one of the bears hanging out in the tree, that’s probably Qing Bao,” explained Lally.

This might change in the future—tree climbing is a behavior that we see more often in cubs, she says, so Qing Bao may find different places to chill out as she gets older.

Tip: Search the entire habitat

Long-time visitors to the Zoo who are familiar with previous panda routines may find it surprising that Qing Bao and Bao Li do not have their own designated outdoor yards.

To keep things interesting for the pandas, the keeper team “rotates” the bears through the exhibit areas every few days. That means if you see Bao Li in a particular yard on one day, you may need to search the neighboring yard on your next visit, Lally says.

The next time you visit the pandas at the Zoo or watch the Giant Panda Cam, use these tips and see if you can spot the differences yourself—and tell us if you noticed anything we missed!

Mike Bock | READ MORE

Mike Bock is a web content writer for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, where he focuses on animal care, conservation science and research.