Pandas’ Black and White Coat Works As Excellent Camouflage Study Finds

Real Need For Black And White Coloration

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No, at first glance, black and white fur does not seem like it would work as great camouflage in the bamboo forests of China. However, when biologists looked at pictures of wild pandas in bamboo forests, they discovered they are almost invisible in the plants! Professor Tim Caro of the University of Bristol, who co-directed the study, said that the panda pictures were quite baffling.

“I knew we were on to something when our Chinese colleagues sent us photographs from the wild,” he said. “I couldn’t see the giant panda in the picture. If I couldn’t see it with my good primate eyes, that meant would-be carnivorous predators with their poorer eyesight might not be able to see it either. It was simply a matter of demonstrating this objectively.”

Just like other black and white colored animals, like zebras, skunks, and orcas, pandas use their different colored fur for different situations. The white parts of their bodies are perfect for snowy areas, while black fur helps them hide in the shadows! Meanwhile, as pandas only eat bamboo and rarely other plants, they cannot store fat for winter like other bears. This means they are on their paws all year long, stepping through many different habitat types for food. So, they need multiple types of camouflage for the different habitats!

Panda’s Perfect Camouflage

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Incredibly, this black and white analysis works on a variety of animals, not just human eyes! During the fur analysis, scientists used computer models to test the sight of various species. When looked at by humans, jackals, snow leopards, or yellow-throated martens, camouflage remained effective. That said, the latter three primarily hunt pandas. “The rare photographic evidence allowed us to examine the giant panda’s appearance in its natural environment for the first time,” said Dr. Ossi Nokelainen of the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, lead author.

“With the help of the state-of-the-art image analysis, we were able to treat these images as if the pandas would have been seen by their predator surrogates using applied vision modeling techniques and also to explore their disruptive coloration,” Nokelainen explained. “It seems giant pandas appear conspicuous to us because of short viewing distances and odd backgrounds. When we see them, either in photographs or at the zoo, it is almost always from close up, and often against a backdrop that doesn’t reflect their natural habitat,” said co-author Professor Nick Scott-Samuel, a psychologist at Bristol.

“From a more realistic predator’s perspective, the giant panda is actually rather well camouflaged.”