Subject: Whales - hair?

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Help me settle a bet.

Do any whales have hair?  If so, do ALL whales have hair?

Gig'em, Aggies.

Thank you.

Howard D. Hendrick
630 / 799 - 2444
     
     _________Reply Separator _________________________________
     
     Howard, 
     
     Oh, wow, someone who knows about Aggies!  Howdy!
     
     I hope you're the one who said that all whales have hair.  This is 
     kind of a trick question/answer. Cetaceans have hair on their snouts 
     as a fetus.  Hairs can be seen along the snout of younger whales and 
     dolphins (looks like little whiskers, and those fall out within a 
     short period of time after birth), and in specialized locations on the 
     head of adults of some species (for example, right whales have visible 
     hairs on their snout area; humpbacks have a whisker in each of the 
     raised 'knuckles' on their head).
     
     So, in short, the answer is 'yes' they have hair at some point in 
     their life.  They don't necessarily keep it, and it isn't like hair 
     that humans or other mammals have.  Great question!
     
     Dagmar

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