The panda's thumb is not evidence for evolution. Pandas were created by God.
The panda’s thumb … no evidence for evolution
Some people think the raccoon-like red panda (pictured at right) is supposed to be good proof of evolution. We are told it is a meat-eater that no longer eats meat; it has razor-sharp claws and a vicious bite that it rarely attacks with; and it has supposedly evolved a small “sixth finger” or “pseudo-thumb” on its front paws from the wristbone.
But the panda's thumb is not evidence for evolution. It gives absolutely no evidence that pandas have evolved from non-pandas.
Pandas are classed as meat-eaters (carnivores) mainly because of their jaws, teeth and feet. And although some pandas will eat meat, they prefer bamboo, fruit and plants. Yet even if their ancestors ate meat, we find there is no evidence their ancestors were anything but pandas. In fact, zoologists still can't agree after more than a century on what pandas could have evolved from.
Not leftover evolutionary traits
The red panda's sharp claws and vicious bite are not leftover traits from a time when its ancestors attacked and defended themselves from other animals. Pandas have no enemies other than man. Their sharp claws help them climb trees easily. And their strong jaws and teeth are needed to snap and crunch their huge daily meals of bamboo.
The “sixth finger”, or pseudo-thumb, is merely an enlarged radial sesamoid, a wristbone that helps the panda grasp the bamboo stems it eats. This “thumb” is larger in the giant panda because it eats larger bamboo stems.
Red pandas are not only found in Asia. A few amazing red panda fossils have been found in North America, including the world's first complete, or almost complete, red panda fossil found at the Gray fossil site in Tennessee. And the unique “thumb” was already on that panda, giving no indication that it has evolved at all.
Gould's circular reasoning
Prominent evolutionist Steven Jay Gould wrote an article in 1978 in Natural History 87(9):20, 24, 28-30, in which he used his presupposition that pandas had evolved as evidence that they had evolved. (Gould's article has been soundly debunked by John Woodmorappe in his response “Panda thumbs its nose at the dysteleological arguments of the atheist Stephen Jay Gould”.)
Even up to the day Gould died on May 20, 2002, he failed to provide evidence that pandas had evolved from non-pandas. In fact, as time has gone on, far from finding evidence that even the panda's thumb has evolved, researchers have found that the giant panda's hand has a much more refined grasping mechanism than had previously been thought.
These panda characteristics don't show us evolution. They show us that pandas are a unique creation of God — perfectly adapted for grasping and crunching bamboo as the Creator intended.
Comment from a reader
“i am completely appalled at your lack of research on the subject on the evolution of the little thing [red panda]. There is evidence that the red panda had carnivorous ancestors! In fact: a new species of red panda (fossil) has been discovered in Gray, TN (USA) and he was clearly a meat eater. His skull lacks the large sagittal crest which is prominent on the modern panda. This little crest is used for muscle attachment in plant and meat eaters, but plant eaters tend to have a larger crest than meat eaters. He also has dentition that is tell tale of a meat eater as well.” — D.
Our reply
Well yes, but all you are saying is that pandas have descended from pandas, which is what they are supposed to do. Our challenge to evolutionists is to show the world that pandas have evolved from some animal that was not a panda. — CT
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