The Hair Color of Giant Pandas

2016-11-24

  There is a Chinese joke about giant pandas— Pandas’ greatest wish is to take a color picture. Indeed, pandas’ appearance in our impression is black and white. It seems that this wish cannot be fulfilled.

 

  But is it really? Please take a look at the photograph below!

 


The babies in nursery

 


It has already known how to climb!

 


Enjoyinghis food!

 

   How clean the babies in nursery house! Why pandas are a little yellowish? Do they like to have a bath?

 


Alas!It’s totally a huge misunderstanding!I enjoy being clean.

 

  But why they always look a little dirty? Let me explain that.

 


The panda istaking a shower.

 


After finishing his shower.

 

  Pandas are innate to play water. In summer, they often bathe themselves in water.

 

  They like to rub dirt off in their bath. Sometimes they use "hands" to scrub and to wash just like people.

 

  They would not shake off the water and until they feel tired from playing. After that, they would take a rest in some clean places.

 

  They have had baths,but why is their hair still yellowish? In fact, those yellowish hair is their true color.

 

  When they are born, you can see their pink skin because their covering hair has not yet developed.

 

  After two or three months, their body is covered with black and white covering hair. It looks very lovely.

 

  Some parts of their covering hair will turn to yellowish after 2 to 3 months and the color will be darker when they grow up.

 

  Moreover,the time and the range about panda's converting hair color, there will be obvious difference.

 


A panda baby with brown covering hair is found in Foping Nature Reserve.

 

  There is a slight possibility, some pandas are born brown.

 

  This cute brown baby found in Foping has a black-and-white panda mother!

 

  So far, we have found 5 brown pandas in the world. Some researchers consider this as atavism, and others think that it is the result of combined effects of the recessive genes.

 

  No matter what the results will be, it is certain that we couldn’t blame pandas for their brown hair.