陕西现棕色大熊猫：告别黑白照！

This rare brown panda is walking proof that, when it comes to nature, it's not always a case of black and white. Unlike his more common monochrome cousins, giant panda Qizai's coat is tan and brown.

这只罕见的棕色大熊猫证明了，在自然环境中，大熊猫并不永远都是黑白的。大熊猫七仔和它单色的亲戚不同，它是黄褐色与棕色相间的。

The quirky creature is one of a rare subspecies that exists only in the remote Qinlig Mountains in western China.

这只奇怪的动物是罕见物种之一，仅存在于中国西部秦岭一带山区里。

Staff at the Shaanxi Wild Animal Research Centre, where the panda is cared for, say many others like him have only patches of brown in their fur - making Qizai especially rare.

七仔现在正在陕西野生动物研究中心被悉心照料，那里工作人员说七仔这样的大熊猫实属罕见，因为大部分像它一样的熊猫都是只有星星点点的棕色皮毛。

'He has a totally brown and tan coat which is very rare. Most just have a few brown patches,' one keeper said.

“它有着完全是黄褐色与棕色的皮毛，这实属罕见。大多数大熊猫都只有几块棕色的皮毛而已，”一位饲养员说。

Experts believe the colony of 300 pandas' unusual colouring is down a combination of a genetic mutation and the animals' local diet in the remote mountainous region.

专家相信这只熊猫不同寻常的颜色，是源于基因突变以及熊猫在偏远山区的饮食。

'They only exist in the wild on these mountains and there are brown variants of other species in the area too,' the keeper said.

“它们仅存活在野外山区，那里也有其他物种的棕色变种” 饲养员表示。