Pandas are NOT all black and white - and now scientists know why some are different colours

Black and white pandas are common - but rarely are they are born with brown fur 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. 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 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. Piecing together his family tree, researchers found that Qizai's mother and father were black-and-white pandas, while Qizai's son, born in captivity in 2020, was also born with a black-and-white coat. The researchers studied Qizai, a male brown panda rescued as a cub in 2009 from Foping National Nature Reserve in Hanzhong Researchers were able to show that Qizai's parents and son all had one copy of the recessive trait on a gene known as Bace2, while Qizai had two copies Findings have also shown that the first discovered brown bear, Dan Dan, had the same recessive trait Dr. Fuwen Wei has said that gaining a better understanding of the mutation could help inform efforts to breed brown-and-white pandas, such as Qizai in captivity The scientists studied genetic information - such as scat and blood samples - from Qizai's family members and compared it with that of 12 black-and-white pandas from the Qinling Mountains and 17 black-and-white pandas from other regions in China.