Panda bear is one of the rare and most famous animals in the world today. But have you ever wondered why panda bear is always black and white in colour? The fact of Panda’s colour have fascinated the scientists and here is what they have found out about Pandas.
Recently, scientists have thrown up plenty of potential reasons regarding the unique contrasting colours of the giant panda bear. The unique colour of panda bear can be the result for stealth, regulating temperature or a warning to potential predators. Researchers were not sure about this fact till now. But now they believe that they know the real reasons behind the unique black and white patches on the body of panda bear which they suppose to be a need for camouflage combined with a need to communicate.
Panda bear has unique black and white combination due to two reasons- camouflage and communication. But other animals are not known to have such adoptions Then why the only panda bear?
Scientists from California who initially took an interest in Zebra pattern have not shifted their attention towards panda bear. In a recent study that was published in the journal Behavioural Ecology this week, researchers from the University of California, Mr Davis, said that the markings on the panda bear are used for camouflage and communication. Adding to this, Professor Tim Caro, the lead author of the study, said “exploring the animal’s colour has previously been tough, because there are not entirely comparable species. Understanding why the giant panda has such striking coloration has been a long-standing problem in biology that has been difficult to tackle because virtually no other mammal has this appearance, making analogies difficult,”
The scientists now started testing the panda bear by taking each part of their body as an individual figure. They compared the unique colour combination of Pandas with that of 195 other carnivore species and 39 other bear species. The colours were then matched to different “ecological and behavioural variables” to estimate the real reason behind such patterns. Surprisingly, they found that a panda’s white face, neck, belly and rump help it to hide in snowy habitats, while the black arms and legs serve as camouflage in the shade. Interesting!
Unlike other bear species, which remain dormant in the winter season, panda bear remains active, because they cannot store up enough fat due to a poor diet of bamboo. This dual colouration of panda bear helps them in their year-round travel in and across different habitat types, like from snowy mountains, to tropical forests. However, the study also says that the pandas’ head markings do not provide any camouflage but communication aid. Their deep dark ears helps them to convey ferocity to predators. According to the study these dark eye patches could also help them to recognise each other or run off competitors.
All these research studies were published by the scientists of California in the journal, Behavourial ecology. However, scientists are aiming to find out more about these interesting species.