Unfortunately, seeing a giant panda in the wild is somewhat unlikely these days, with only about 1,600 currently alive outside of captivity. This makes giant pandas the rarest species of bear on the planet, so it’s no surprise that they are listed as endangered by World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species.
In an attempt to help raise awareness about the plight of the panda, Russian artist Ilja Klemencov has created this mind-melting optical illusion, which contains an appropriately elusive panda hidden behind black and white zig-zagged lines.
The image has gone viral, with people reporting varying levels of difficulty in spotting the panda. Those who have trouble identifying the bear are advised to take a step back or rotate the picture to a near-ninety degree angle, at which point all should be revealed.
Can you spot the panda? Hint: it's black and white. Ilja Klemencov
Those who do spot the hidden panda will notice that it is, in fact, the famous logo of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which is currently among the most active organizations working toward panda conservation. The optical illusion is also accompanied by the caption “They can disappear.”
Giant pandas are native to the broadleaf and coniferous forests of central China, where they enjoy a diet of about 99 percent bamboo. Over recent decades, they have been driven from the lowlands by farming, deforestation, and industrialization, and now live only in the mountains, at an altitude of between 1,500 to 3,000 meters (5,000 to 10,000 feet).
