Why Giant Pandas have distinct black and white markings on their body? | Hidden Facts | Brain Corner
- shivamsah969
- Oct 9, 2021
- 2 min read

A study has found that the 'Giant Pandas' are distinct.
A new study has found that the giant panda's distinct black-and-white markings have two functions: camouflage and communication. The scientists, who earlier discovered why zebras have black and white stripes, took the colouration question to giant pandas in the latest study.
'Why Giant Pandas have distinct black and white markings on their body?'
"Understanding why the giant panda has such striking colouration 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," said Tim Caro, a professor at the University of California, Davis in the U.S. "The breakthrough in the study was treating each part of the body as an independent area," said Mr. Caro. This enabled the team to compare different regions of fur across the giant panda's body to the dark abd light colouring of 195 other carnivorous species and 39 bear sub-species, to which it is related.
Then they tried to match the darkness of these regions to various ecological and behavioural variables to determine their function. Through these comparisons, the study found that most of the panda - its face, neck, belly, and rump is white to help it hide in snowy habitats. The arms and legs are black, helping it to hide in shade.
The scientists suggest that this dual colouration stems from its poor diet of bamboo and inability to digest a broader variety of plants. This means it can never store enough fat to go dormant during the winter, as do some bears. So, it has to be active year-round, travelling across long distances and habitat types that range from snowy mountains to tropical forests. The markings on its head, however, are not used to hide from predators, but rather to communicate. Dark ears may help convey a sense of ferocity, a warning to predators. Their dark eye patches may help them recognize each other or signal aggression towards panda competitors.
"This really was a Herculean effort by our team finding. Sometimes it takes hundreds of hours of hard work to answer what seems like the simplest of questions," Mr. Stankowich said.

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