The colors of the skin and hair of animals are never those that are on a whim, but for evolutionary reasons that help the survival of the species. Giant pandas are no exception. The peculiar combination of black and white of their hair responds to their need to adapt to the habitat where they developed, the mountainous regions of central China, and to their social relationships.
That is the conclusion of a work published in Behavioral Ecology by a team of biologists from the University of California. The scientists compared the colors of the pandas’ fur with those of 195 species of terrestrial carnivores and 39 subspecies of bear, and related the light and dark colors of each of them to their habitats and social behaviors.
They found no link between temperature and hair color, but did find a relationship between light tones and frequently snowy habitats. In the case of giant pandas, they think that white helps them hide in the snow, which is common in their cold and mountainous environment. The dark would camouflage them among the vegetation. This color combination makes it difficult for predators like leopards to detect them. The pandas would have developed it because they remain active throughout the year, with and without snow.
A language of colors
It makes sense, because camouflage is one of the main animal survival strategies. But what about the face of pandas? Why is the hair on his ears and the hair around his eyes black, and the rest white? The analysis of the authors of the work indicates that the marks on the faces of these mammals do not serve to hide themselves, but to communicate with their congeners and other animals.
The dark ears would have the function of warning possible rivals – they are solitary and territorial beings – and deterring predators. Biologists have come to this conclusion because carnivores that sport this type of contrast between the pigmentation of the ears and that of the face are usually aggressive.
For its part, the black patch that surrounds their eyes – of variable size and shape, depending on the specimens – would be like the ID of pandas, a unique mark that would allow them to recognize each other and that, however adorable it may seem to humans , has an unfriendly purpose: when a bear looks at a potential rival, this dark spot enlarges as a warning.
