The same scientists who discovered why zebras have their black and white stripes have found the reason for the giant panda's fur color in a similar manner.
A research team from California State University and UC Davis in Long Beach announced their findings in a recent study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology. They explained that while zebras developed their distinctive stripes to fend off biting flies, the unique fur markings of giant pandas are used for camouflage and communication. Professor Tim Caro, a professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at UC Davis, stated, "Understanding why giant pandas have such remarkable coloring has been a long-standing problem in biology, made difficult by the lack of any other mammal that looks quite like them, which complicates comparison. The breakthrough we made in this study was treating each part of the panda's body as an independent area."
During the study, researchers compared the fur of pandas to the dark and light coloring of 195 other carnivore species and 39 bear subspecies that are biologically related to pandas. They concluded that most areas of the panda's body, including the face, neck, belly, and hindquarters, were white to help them hide in snowy environments, while their black arms and legs helped them camouflage in the shade. Co-author Professor Ted Stankowich said, "This was truly a tremendous effort by our team, as we found and analyzed thousands of images and identified more than 10 areas in each image with over 20 possible colors."
Additionally, the researchers found that the panda's black and white coloring is influenced by its diet, which consists mainly of bamboo. Due to its diet, the panda struggles to store enough fat during winter to hibernate, so it remains active and moves through both snowy and tropical habitats during this time instead of hibernating. Scientists state that the markings on the panda's head are used for communication with each other and with potential predators, with the panda's black ears serving as warning signals to potential threats, and its black eye patches helping them recognize one another and signal aggressive feelings.
Professor Stankowich added, "Sometimes, it takes hundreds of hours of hard work to answer what seem to be the simplest questions, like: Why are pandas black and white?"
