A rare albino giant panda has captured the attention of bear partisan around the reality after being documented mid - April in southwest China .
discern at an elevation of 2,000 meters ( 6,500 feet ) by an infrared tv camera trap in China’sWolong National Nature Reserve , the giant animal has both white hair and claws with red eyes – all indications that it has a rare genetic mutant creditworthy for its unique coloring .
" Judging from word picture , the panda is an albino , one to two geezerhood old , " Li Sheng , a researcher with Peking University and a specialist in bear , told Taiwanese publicationXinhua . " The giant panda looked strong and its steps were unfaltering , a signaling that the genetic mutation may not have quite impeded its life . ”
Albinism come when an fauna lack melanin , the dark brown or opprobrious pigment occurring in hair , skin , and the eyes of masses and animals . A deficiency of this protective pigment can make an animal more tender to sunshine , resulting in potential skin defect and eye damage . However , apress releaseissued by the second-stringer observe that an expert analysis of the photographs suggests that the mutation “ may not affect the normal sprightliness of the panda . ” These animals are constitute high-pitched in China ’s bamboo forests , often shelter from the sunshine by tolerant leaves .
It ’s impossible to tell apart the sexuality of the Ailuropoda melanoleuca , but the Mungo Park adds that its comportment indicate there could be a mutant factor present in Wolong ’s giant cat bear universe . It ’s unreadable whether the recessively inherited gene will be passed down to future generations . Only when both parent Ailuropoda melanoleuca carry the factor will it be exhibited in their offspring . If this particular bear mated with a normal panda , the first generation would still retain the endearing color the world has come to know and love . But , if the 2d generation of offspring also carries the albino gene and mates with another panda carry the mutation , then it may be possible we could see albino pandas in the old age to come .
Wolong National Nature Reserve is one of the largest and well - have it off panda reserves in China . Its ardent , humid climate farm bounteous amounts of bamboo , the panda ’s favorite food . According to theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature Red List , giant pandas are list as vulnerable with just between 500 and 1,000 known mature soul . The giant put up live only in the forests of China and are threatened by climate change , as well as pollution , human activities , and natural disasters .
