Where's Your Hair

Where's Your Hair

What Makes a Mammal? All mammals have certain things in common. They are warm-blooded, they nurse their young, and most--not all- have hair. Some mammals have lots of hair, while others have almost none at all. Some mammals-normally hairy-have been bred to be hairless. Many common pets include hairless breeds. There are hairless dogs, hairless cats, and even hairless guinea pigs. Hairless mammals can be found in the wild, too. Look around you. Hairless animals are every where!

Hairless Dogs Hairless dogs have a long history. The xolo (SHOW-low) is a hairless dog breed that has been around for more than three thousand years. Some believe xolos followed early humans when they first moved to Central America. Today, the xolo is the national dog of Mexico.

Peru is home to hairless Inca orchids, one of the rarest dog breeds in the world. Most hairless Inca orchids have a little tuft of hair on their head. It almost looks like a furry wig! Not all Inca orchids are hairless, though. Both hairy and hairless Inca orchids can be found in the same litter. How can that be? The answer is genes. Genes are instructions for your cells. They help make you who you are, from the color of your hair to how tall you will grow.

Genes are passed down from parents to children, but not every child gets the same genes. That's why siblings often look like their mother and father, but in different ways. In the animal world, a hairless dog or cat is also the result of genes. If the same hairless gene is passed down over several generations, it can lead to a new hairless breed. Hairless breeds sometimes need help to survive. Since hair helps keep a mammal warm, many pet owners use sweaters to warm their hairless pets. They also take care to protect their pets from sunburn.

Cool Cats Unlike hairless dogs, hairless cat breeds have only been around for a few decades. The beautiful sphynx cat is a result of a gene's natural mutation. That mutation led to a new breed of cat. Today, the sphynx is the most popular of all hairless cats.