The mystery of the characteristic coloration of giant pandas has long been of interest to scientists. Various versions have been put forward, but recently scientists have proposed the most reasoned explanation, National Geographik reports.
For many years, scientists have studied these animals, and put forth different theories that could explain their coloring: insect repellent, help with communications or a means for heat exchange. One of the versions was disguise, and American biologists confirmed it.
During the study, experts compared the coloration of pandas with flowers characteristic of the wool of 39 subspecies of bears and 195 other terrestrial carnivorous mammals. Analyzing these data, scientists did not find a connection between the color and temperature of the air. Even in cases where animals live in conditions detrimental to vision (for example, the glitter of snow in the mountains), they do not need black “glasses” around the eyes to reflect light.
Most of the results were obtained by comparing the coloration of animals with their habitats. This confirms the version of camouflage of giant pandas: they live in high-mountain forests on the border of areas covered with snow and vegetation, and black and white coloring, being a compromise between two types of landscape, allows them to successfully hide both among trees and in snow.
