四川发现首只通体白色大熊猫 Rare all-white panda spotted in China

A rare(稀有的 xīyǒu de) all-white panda has been captured on cameras in the Wolong National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the reserve management authorities said on Saturday.

A rare all-white panda captured on cameras in the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province [Photo: CCTV]

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"Judging from pictures, the panda is an albino, one to two years old," said Li Sheng, a researcher with Peking University and a specialist(专家 zhuānjiā) in bears, who studied the pictures.

Albinism(白化 báihuà) exists in different vertebrate species. The albino mutation inhibits melanin synthesis in animal's body. Albino usually does not affect(影响 yǐngxiǎng) animal's physical makeup and functions. It could make them easier to be discovered(发现 fāxiàn) and more sensitive(敏感 mǐngǎn) to direct sunlight, said Li.

The albino mutation is a recessive gene(基因 jīyīn). only when the parent pandas both carry such gene, can the baby show the albino traits(特征 tèzhēng).

If this white panda would mate with a normal panda, their first generation babies will still be black and white. But their babies, carrying the albino gene, will possibly give birth to all-white pandas if their partners also carry such genes, Li said.
 

In order to better protect the ecosystems, the Wolong nature reserve has been using infrared cameras to monitor the distribution(分布 fēnbù) and activities(活动 huódòng) of wild(野生的 yěshēng de) animals in its seven demonstration areas.

Previously, some rare brown giant pandas were found in China's Qinling Mountains. The cause of the brown fur color was also considered as genetic mutation by some researchers.

颜色词汇 Color vocabulary:

[lǜ sè] 绿色 green
[hóng sè] 红色 red
[lán sè] 蓝色 blue
[hēi sè] 黑色 black
[huī sè] 灰色 grey
[huáng sè] 黄色 yellow
[zǐ sè] 紫色 purple, violet
[bái sè] 白色 white
[zōng sè] 棕色 brown
[fěn hóng sè] 粉红色 pink
[tuó sè] 驼色 camel
[xiàng yá sè] 象牙色 ivory
[kǎ qí sè] 卡其色 khaki
[zàng qīng sè] 藏青色 navy blue
[gǎn lǎn lǜ] 橄榄绿 olive green
[fēi hóng sè] 绯红色 scarlet
[yān huī sè] 烟灰色 smoky gray
[chéng sè] 橙色 orang