Why is panda white / black color?

Giant panda (Panda) is an animal that is endangered and inhabits only in a very limited area of ​​China. Various theories have been advocated, "Why black and white" is a panda characterized by white and black body hair, but researchers in the United States are using the image comparison to pinpoint the reason.

Why is the giant panda black and white? | Behavioral Ecology | Oxford Academic
https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/beheco/arx008/3058530/Why-is-the-giant-panda-black-and-white

Why Pandas Are Black and White | UC Davis
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/why-pandas-are-black-and-white/

Why Are Pandas Black And White? | IFLScience
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/why-are-pandas-black-and-white/

The panda has a characteristic appearance in the white hair, only around the eyes and the ears are black, and is therefore loved worldwide as an adorable animal. However, in life in the wild, zoogy pattern is very conspicuous and may work disadvantageously in survival competition, and zoologist advocates various theories as to why this color is, and conclusion has come out not.


One thing that is cited is "for camouflage". Inland area of ​​panda's inhabitants is the area where snow accumulates in winter, the theory that it is easy to hide in the snowy landscape, and it is white and black to avoid eyes of predators such as snow leopards and jackals . Another powerful theory is that black is easy to absorb heat from sunlight to prevent the temperature of eyes and ears from falling in the cold winter. Besides, the theory that the eyes are black for intimidating the enemy, and the theory that the panda basically living alone acts dare to make it easy to find partners during the breeding season It is.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of California Davis and California State University Long Beach have been searching for reasons by comparing pandas with coloring and habitats of other animals.

Besides the panda there are black and white animals, for example zebras have a striking black and white pattern which is very noticeable. Although zebras are separated from theories such as camouflage, body temperature adjustment, and defense against parasites, zebra etc. By comparing with these animals, we try to infer the reason why the panda is black and white.

In the study, we used colorimetry of body hair as image data for 195 other carnivore animals and 39 kinds of bear family animals, and compared with panda by statistical method. Especially, we analyze pattern of similarity in black and white pattern of panda by analyzing for each part of animal's body such as eyes, ears, hands and feet, and scores similarity.


The conclusion that was made is that the reason why most parts are white is that it is suitable for concealing themselves in a snowy position as the traditional power theory. It is thought that it is advantageous to hide in the shade as to black dots with arms and legs. In addition, it is because two colors of white and black can only eat bamboo and bamboo nutritious foods.

However, we conclude that "communication" is the purpose of panda's characteristic face and black and white pattern, not camouflage. First of all, the reason why my ears are black is useful to appeal "predatory" to predators, and that the dark circles around them are useful to distinguish between individuals and inform aggressiveness to rival pandas about.

Researchers using the scientific method of comparing using images of many animals, according to the analysis results say that it is unlikely that the traditional dominance theory "to prevent body temperature falling in part of the body" is correct I have concluded.