If you’re a panda-lover and likes to know everything about pandas, you may be wondering – what color is a giant panda?
Here’s a short answer, a giant panda is black and white. This is a very unique color that makes you know a Giant panda when you spot one.
Now that you know that giant pandas are black and white, you may be wondering, do pandas have different colors?
In this article we will answer that question and also deep dive on what do giant pandas look like. Keep reading below to know more!
Do Pandas Have Different Colors?
No! pandas only appear in a unique black and white color.
Moreover, this coloring just doesn’t happen from birth or even some months of growing up. Their childhood stages are something that brings about different colors of a panda.
At birth, they appear pink in color and with no other color on different parts, like the legs or hands. Growing up takes a whole new coloring. Pandas at 4-5 months exhibit another coloring of grey and white.
To be more specific, this color is separated in different body parts and similar to that of an adult panda where some body parts are white and some black. The only difference is the grey parts being the black-colored part of a fully matured Panda.
Nevertheless, all these different colorings are just stages of a Panda’s growth. The black and white coating is something every growing panda would have when fully matured.
Are All Pandas Black and White?
Yes! Black and white is the actual color of every panda. This is how they’ve been all this while.
Some rare sub-species of a giant panda were found appearing brown in color around the Qinling mountains. Their brown color is just similar to the Giant pandas black and white parts. A darker brown substitutes for white and a lighter brown color for the white parts. Also, the size of a Qinling panda is smaller.
Giant pandas normally have a black coloring around their eyes, but that’s different with Qinling pandas. It appears only under the eyes and are brown instead of black.
However, this coat coloring isn’t a normal panda color, but only resulted from genetic complications, somewhat a kind of mutation.
Are There Black Pandas?
No, there are no black pandas. Every panda has a unique black and white coat and no one is completely black.
However, it was reported that a white panda was seen in China. This is very rare and it only existed because of “albinism”.
Albinism a condition where there’s a reduced amount on melanin pigment on the skin which makes your skin, hair and/or eyes white.
Recommended Reading: Do Giant Pandas Have Spots or Stripes
What Does a Giant Panda Looks Like?
Hearing “Giant panda” doesn’t mean some gigantic creature. They’re not something frightening to see as kids might imagine.
One of their striking features is their black and white coloring helps them for two main things. One is to camouflage and the other is to communicate. The white areas help them disguise themselves well in snowy areas and the black parts camouflage them well in shady areas.
Their eye structure is different from that of normal bears. Their pupils appear as vertical slots instead. The black covering around the eyes helps them recognize each other and express aggression.
A huge wrist bone is something unique a Giant panda has. It functions as thumbs assisting their paws while holding and feeding on stems of bamboos.
Giant pandas’ weight reaches about 300 pounds and the females weighing around 200 pounds. They climb so high as swim so well. Another striking thing about pandas is their shy nature. Staying around areas people are present isn’t just their thing. However, their very cute creatures and fun to watch.
Also Read: The Giant Panda’s Body Parts
Conclusion
Now you know that pandas are only black and white in color and that’s something unique about them. There’s no such thing as black pandas and any colored variation is just not normal.
However, more about the uniqueness of these creatures is seen in other features, especially their feeding habit which is incredible. If you found this article helpful, don’t forget to share it.
