A question about hair.

[nogods4me]

Do any of our closest relatives: chimps, bonobos, gorillas, etc. have hair that grows continuously like we do? I mean I have never seen a chimp with very long hair like some people have? Do any other animals have hair like that?

[crispy]

I think all do, but like with dogs, they fall off at some point. Imagine its the same with gorillas...

[nogods4me]

If so, it doesn't get very long before falling off.
Any guesses as to why?

[premjan]

It isn't strong enough?

[Steviepinhead]

Lack of access to salons and commercial hair care products leads to split ends, etc.

One might ask oneself, what would one do about long fingernails if one didn't have fingernail clippers? One might suppose this would be a huge problem for our closest great ape relatives, but then one might consider the breakage, abrasion, and other forms of wear'n'tear a wild life involves. And, of course, the option of nibbling...

[nogods4me]

Sure, put then I would expect chimps in captivity to exhibit long, or at least longer hair...

[Steviepinhead]

This is not to suggest that great ape hair stays short due to continual nibbling (though the pinhead reports that he has been known to nibble on excess mustache hair, in between spa appointments...)...

It was more the wear'n'tear thing I was wishing to, er, highlight. (Ouch! If that was a hair-pun turn, it sure was a dodgy one...)

[Steviepinhead]

Some people actively trim or pluck their eyebrows. A very few people achieve very long eyebrows (Chinese mandarins of old come to mind). Most don't, even though they may undertake no conscious measures to control the length of their brow follicles.

Actually, it would not surprise me if there was some degree of genetic control over average hair length (or average length of cycle of the hair follicles from active/growing to resting/recovery...).

[PJPSYCO]

Starting from completely shaved my farthest back head hair stops growing at the middle of my back, and the whole of my hair was approximately even. I left it 5 years and didn't even get an inch. Hair just stops growing if you don't cut it.

[CelticChic]

Do any of our closest relatives: chimps, bonobos, gorillas, etc. have hair that grows continuously like we do? I mean I have never seen a chimp with very long hair like some people have? Do any other animals have hair like that?

Horses do. Their mane's and tails grow continuously but are rubbed, chewed or generally worn off in the wild (and often in domestic groups as well). I think there are some dog breeds that do - thinking of one that gets dreadlocks in particular but I don't know the breed name.

Maybe it's a case of not shedding the hair as quickly. We have hair all over our bodies but most of it doesn't grow long the way our head hair does and we do shed that as well. Perhaps for some reason those folicles don't shed as easily or often as others.

[Serafina]

Do any of our closest relatives: chimps, bonobos, gorillas, etc. have hair that grows continuously like we do? I mean I have never seen a chimp with very long hair like some people have? Do any other animals have hair like that?

Horses do. Their mane's and tails grow continuously but are rubbed, chewed or generally worn off in the wild (and often in domestic groups as well). I think there are some dog breeds that do - thinking of one that gets dreadlocks in particular but I don't know the breed name.

Maybe it's a case of not shedding the hair as quickly. We have hair all over our bodies but most of it doesn't grow long the way our head hair does and we do shed that as well. Perhaps for some reason those folicles don't shed as easily or often as others.

Hungarian Komondor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komondor

[BMD]

Too lazy to bother to look it up to check, but I think Steviepinhead was on the right track. I remember reading, fairly recently, that hair follicles go through a cycle where they grow, then rest, then fallout and then start over again. Hair on different parts of the body have cycles of different length which explains why your body hair stays relatively short, due to a short growth cycle before it falls out, while the hair on your head goes through a much longer growth cycle. I, too, would suspect that there are genetics that control this pattern.

And...

One might ask oneself, what would one do about long fingernails if one didn't have fingernail clippers?

With our first son, we cut his fingernails a few times as an infant and eventually quit. I'd bet he hasn't had them cut in over 2 years and they are still a reasonable length. They stay worn down. Toes too. He now has a brother almost five months old who has never had his nails clipped. If my two year old can keep his nails worn down, wild animals should be able to do so as well.

[Allied35]

I think human head-hair length is due to sexual selection IMHO, also our near-hairlessness, especially in females.

[Doddy]

I think human head-hair length is due to sexual selection IMHO, also our near-hairlessness, especially in females.
Humans still have hair all over, but the hair is vellus hair. It is reduced in length, thickness and pigment, giving a hairless appearance.

It is androgens, such as testosterone, that cause the switch between vellus hair and androgenic hair (the longer, thicker and usually darker hair). As such, there may be an association between male hormonal fitness and hairiness, and the reverse being true for females.

It is probable that this hormonal regulation of hair production was accentuated by human evolution. Such regulation was probably started by selection for easier grooming (parasites can't hide in thin hair), and was then quickly accelerated by sexual selection once the correlation between testosterone levels and hair density became apparent.

However, hairlessness can also be due to illness or mutations, so at least one part of the body needed to clearly display that hair growth was possible, yet well regulated by hormones. That part appears to be the head (which may have been selected due to its benefit shading the top of the head from the sun).

[nogods4me]

Thanks folks. Some interesting answers.

[Steviepinhead]

BMD:
With our first son, we cut his fingernails a few times as an infant and eventually quit.
Egad! This brings back a bad memory: the first time that I tried to trim my first-son's baby thumbnail, I came way too close to taking off the end of his thumb...! I left them little suckers alone after that, until they were big enough to actually worry about.

[ImaAtheistNow]

Do any of our closest relatives: chimps, bonobos, gorillas, etc. have hair that grows continuously like we do? I mean I have never seen a chimp with very long hair like some people have? Do any other animals have hair like that?

Some orangutans do ...

http://holamun2.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/orangutan.jpg

[Betenoire]

Do any of our closest relatives: chimps, bonobos, gorillas, etc. have hair that grows continuously like we do? I mean I have never seen a chimp with very long hair like some people have? Do any other animals have hair like that?

Some orangutans do ...

http://holamun2.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/orangutan.jpg

I was just about to mention my shaggy orange-haired brethren. Beat me to it.

[lunachick]

http://holamun2.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/orangutan.jpg

Woah! Now I know where Scotsmen come from. :cool:





(I kid, I kid...)

[GenesisNemesis]

http://holamun2.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/orangutan.jpg

Woah! Now I know where Scotsmen come from. :cool:





(I kid, I kid...)

That's a true scotsman, right there! :D

[nogods4me]

http://holamun2.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/orangutan.jpg

Woah! Now I know where Scotsmen come from. :cool:


(I kid, I kid...)

Hard to believe they have changed so little over the years.

:Cheeky:

[C_Mucius_Scaevola]

My hair hasn't felt the touch of a pair of scissors for seven years or more. Hasn't grown at all.

ImaAtheistNow, I'm a Scotsman and I'd just like to correct your little misconception. Not that many Scots have red hair. The red hair's a Norwegian thing, you see, and the Norwegians only managed to conquer part of the North of Scotland.
So what you have in your photo is not really a Scotsman.
It's obviously a Highlander.

C_M_S