the bears' performance in choosing green was variable, but mostly above chance. In the red versus gray tests, both bears performed above chance every single time. Only Lun Lun completed the blue versus green tests because Yang Yang had a tooth problem that prevented him from eating the treats used as reinforcement. For this trial, Lun Lun performed below chance only once.

"While this study shows that giant pandas have some color vision, it wasn't conclusive as to what level of color vision they have," said Kelling. "From this study, we can't tell if the pandas can tell the difference between the colors themselves, like red from blue, or blue from green. But we can see that they can determine if something is gray or colored. That ability and the accompanying visual acuity could lead to the pandas being better able to forage for bamboo. For instance, to determine whether to head for a bamboo patch that is healthy and colorful as opposed to one that is brown and dying."

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Contact: David Terraso
d.terraso@gatech.edu
404-385-2966
Georgia Institute of Technology
13-Oct-2006


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