Pandas are NOT all black and white - and now scientists know why some are ... trends now
Hailing from forests nestled within mountain ranges across China, the iconic giant panda has long captivated the world with its distinctive black and white coat.
Yet, amidst the sea of monochrome fur, a rare sight occasionally emerges - a panda adorned in rich shades of brown.
For years, the origins of these unconventional pandas have puzzled scientists and conservationists alike, with experts previously attributing their mutation to inbreeding or environmental factors.
Now, a groundbreaking study conducted by researchers in Beijing, China, has shed light on this captivating phenomenon, uncovering the genetic underpinnings behind the existence of brown pandas and dispelling the notion of inbreeding as the cause.
After examining the genetics of pandas in the wild and in captivity, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology in Beijing have suggested that pandas with brown-and-white coats are the result of natural variation.
Hailing from forests nestled within mountain ranges across China , the iconic giant panda has long captivated the world with its distinctive black and white coat (stock image)
For years, the origins of rare pandas with brown-and-white coats have puzzled scientists and conservationists alike - but scientists have now shed light on this captivating phenomenon
Senior author Dr. Fuwen Wei, a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation biology at the institute, has said that gaining a better understanding of the mutation could help inform efforts to breed brown-and-white pandas in captivity.
The first brown panda known to science was a female named Dan Dan, an ailing bear found by a local ranger in Foping County in Shaanxi province's Qinling Mountains in 1985.
The panda was held in captivity at Xi'an Zoo until her death in 2000 - but, shockingly, since her discovery nearly four decades ago, there have only been 11 sightings of brown pandas, according to CNN.
Each sighting has either been have been documented through official news reports and or through personal accounts shared with the authors
