On the white face of the giant panda, the dark circles of the eyes are like a stroke of god, so that people who observe from a distance will always have the illusion of being stared at by it. So, what exactly does the giant panda see through its eyes?
Giant pandas, belonging to the bear family, the subfamily giant panda. We have always mistakenly thought that bears have poor vision, but in fact, bears have the same level of vision as humans, and they have excellent vision at night. So, what is the vision of giant pandas? In recent years, researchers have found through experiments that when measuring a distance of 0.5 meters, giant pandas can distinguish between black and white stripes about 0.46 mm wide. Its eyesight is equivalent to about 0.32 in the difference series such as the international standard eye chart, and if it is replaced by a person, it is necessary to wear myopic glasses of three or four hundred degrees. It can be seen that the giant panda is a full-fledged myopic eye.
Giant pandas with poor vision perceive the world mainly through their senses of smell and hearing. They will smell and listen before eating, and then continue to eat when they are sure that there is no danger.
Why do giant pandas behave like this?
The traits of giant pandas, such as myopia, dark circles, large faces, pseudo-thumbs, etc., are determined by two factors from a biological genetic point of view, one is genes, and the other is the acquired environment. The specific performance is mainly genetic, supplemented by the external environment. Regarding the cause of myopia in giant pandas, it may be related to both genetic and evolutionary adaptability. Genetically, it may be related to the composition ratio of its cones and column cells and its photosensitive properties; in terms of evolutionary adaptability, it may be related to its activity habits.
Giant pandas in the wild live in alpine valleys at altitudes of 1500 to 4000 meters. Giant pandas like to eat bamboo, and have long shuttled through the dimly lit, multi-obstacle bamboo forest, so the giant panda's vision is weak, and it must rely on a keen sense of smell. In order to ensure the timely detection of enemies during feeding, to ensure efficient feeding and auspicious avoidance, and to quickly distinguish the freshness of bamboo, giant pandas are more inclined to use their sense of smell and hearing. In addition, the giant panda's pupils are longitudinally lobed like cats, controlling the intensity of the light entering the eyeball, which allows them to move freely in the dark, ensuring that they can spend most of the day feeding.
Although the giant pandas are short-sighted, the world in their eyes is still very exciting.
Scientists have proved through research that giant pandas have the ability to distinguish between black, white and other small differences in graphics, and can carry out individual identification, community communication and even mate selection through the markings of their fur. That is to say, even if it is short-sighted, it can distinguish whether the giant panda on the other side is female or male, whether it is its own relatives or distant neighbors, stronger or weaker than itself, whether it can get along harmoniously or have to fight to the death.
After the death of the giant panda "Ji Ji", which was loved by European countries, scientists dissected the body for him, and it was clear that the eyes of the giant panda had two kinds of photosensitive pigments, one would reflect red and the other would reflect white. This is also the first time that the scientific community has discovered that giant pandas can see colors, just like black bears and other non-nocturnal predators. Later, scientists found through experiments that both female and male pandas can clearly distinguish green and red in a pile of gray, and female pandas can also distinguish blue.
In summary, we still have no way of knowing whether giant pandas can distinguish between different colors, for example, no one knows whether giant pandas can find the difference between red and green. However, even if the giant panda cannot perceive the color in our human way, it can still enjoy the green trees and red flowers in the colorful world, look up at the blue sky, and bathe in the spring breeze.
About author:Peng Wenpei, graduated from Sichuan Agricultural University, entered the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in 2016 and is currently working in the Animal Breeding Management Department. Research field and direction: animal genetics, breeding and reproduction.
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