Why Pandas have Black and White Spots?

Why do pandas have black and white spots?  Zoe

That is an interesting question and one many people have asked before, including wildlife biologists. The most accepted explanation that I can find is as follows.

Pandas are solitary animals –  they live alone except when breeding or caring for young. They once roamed on thousands of acres of bamboo forest. When their breeding cycle began, they would have to somehow find another panda with which to mate. In all that forest, their striking black and white pattern helped them locate each other. A reverse camouflage as such. And because they show some territoriality, their colors might also warn other pandas they are in the area — a territorial display as such.

So, put simply, the pandas’ black and white fur pattern may have helped them find each other to mate during mating season. During the rest of the year, their “colors” may have warned other pandas to stay out of their territory.

If I might use a silly analogy… think of a clown, with bright red hair, nose and shoes, striped leggings and yellow coat. His bright colored costume might attract kids who want to see a clown, but send most of us, who are afraid of clowns, moving quickly away. Survival instincts are strong in animals.

Now that the bamboo forests are almost gone and what are left are fragmented by highways and development, the pandas’ need for a flashy warning display may not be as helpful, except that it does help biologists monitor and protect them. And for pandas, in this day and age, that might be the most important survival technique yet.