Pandas use their black and white coloring to camouflage and communicate.
Internet users often like to point out that the panda, being black, white, Asian and adored by people all over the world, should be the perfect argument against racism. However, beyond the superficial symbolism, scientists claim to have discovered the mystery behind the animal’s unusual color pattern.
The same researchers who unravel why zebras have a pattern of black and white stripes, as a way to repel biting flies, have now managed to uncover the mysteries of the panda, which they published in the journal Behavioral Ecology.
The study was the result of a collaboration between California State University, Long Beach, and the University of California, Davis. It reveals that the black and white color pattern of the pandas has two main functions: communication and camouflage.
The unique characteristic of pandas has long intrigued scientists, especially since the fact that they are the only animal with this pattern, it has made unraveling the mystery behind it so much harder. However, according to the Tim Caro, the lead author of the study, and a professor at the Department of Wildlife and Conservation Biology at UC Davis, they were able to discover its meaning and purpose only after they began treated each part of its body as a separate area.
This allowed the team of researchers to compare the various regions of fur of the pandas’ body to the light and dark colored regions of 195 other carnivore species in the animal kingdom, as well as with that of 39 bear subspecies related to the panda.
The scientists also tried to match the black areas of the pandas to different behavioral and ecological variables as a way to determine their unknown function. Thanks to these comparisons, the scientists found that most parts of the pandas such as the face, neck, rump, and belly, is white. This helps camouflage vulnerable and vital areas of the animal in snowy habitats. While, the black areas of the bear, found on its arms and legs, help it to better hide in shade.
Scientists believe that their unique coloring is caused by their diet, which is mostly limited to bamboo. Its fur is an adaptive mechanism meant to camouflage it for all periods of the year, as it does not hibernate.
Image source: Wikipedia
