Why is the only brown panda in the world brown?

Brown giant panda is a rare giant panda variety.

By the end of 20 19, only six brown giant pandas have been found in the world since scientific records were available, all of which are distributed in the core area of Qinling Mountain, Shaanxi Province, one of the important habitats of giant pandas.

On March 26th, 1985, Lu, a villager from Daguping Village, Yueba Township, Foping County, Hanzhong, found a brown-and-white diseased giant panda in the valley of Foping Nature Reserve in Qinling Mountain, Shaanxi Province, at an altitude of about 1200m. After the rescue was successful, it recovered quickly and was fostered in Xi 'an Zoo, named "Dandan". At that time, it was 13 years old and weighed.

What is different is that Dandan's coat color is not black and white, but brown and white. Panda expert Pan said that this brown and white female panda is the only brown panda seen in the world so far, and named it "Dandan", which has set a milestone in the world animal history.

"Dandan" gave birth to two babies in Xi 'an Zoo. The first one gave birth to two babies, one died of edema at birth, and the other only lived for two days. 1989, "Dandan" gave birth to a normal black and white panda named "Qin Qin".

"Dandan" was killed by cancer in 2000, and "Qin Qin" became the only blood line of "Dandan". Unfortunately, "Qin Qin" died of sudden illness on June 23rd, 2006 without leaving any children. There is a specimen of Dandan in Foping Nature Reserve.

About speculation

According to an old hunter living in the Qinling Mountains, he once saw a giant panda with the same color as Dandan in the wild as early as 1954. In addition, some people have seen 1 adult giant panda and 1 cub of brown giant panda in the wild.

Therefore, it is likely that there are two kinds of giant pandas with different fur colors in Qinling Mountains, but the brown giant panda is not an independent population. Brown body hair is considered by scientists to be a manifestation of the primitive character of many animals, so the brown-and-white giant panda found in Qinling Mountains is probably an atavism.

From August, 2065438 to August, 2005, scientists believed that brown and white pandas had genetic basis, which may be the result of double recessive genes, or the combination of genes or dilution factors.

Scientists at the center think it is necessary to continue to explore the secrets of the appearance of brown and white giant pandas. The number of giant pandas in Qinling Mountains is small and closed, and the number is estimated to be between 200 and 300. Some experts believe that the brown hair of pandas may be related to the unique local geographical and climatic conditions, and the local soil and water sources may have an impact on the hair color of pandas.