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Why don't the other primates have long hair?

Best Answers

Nobody knows the answer to that. The reason behind the length of the hair on our heads versus the hair on our bodies is the length of the cycle of the hair follicle. The follicles on our head grow hair for years before they become quiescent (go into the rest phase, and the hair is shed). read more

We're still primates. And we have long hair on our heads, and with males, hair on our faces as well. Other primates don't because no mammal in the tropics has long hair. There are no yaks in the tropics--and no hippos in the Arctic. Thermal regulation, plain and simple. The interesting question is why we have this unique combination of long head hair and near-hairlessness over most of the rest of our bodies. read more

Interestingly, other Old World primates also have trichromatic color vision, and, although not to the same extent, less hair, particularly on their faces, when compared with mammals and New World primates who are monochromatic or dichromatic. read more

Every other member of our extended family has a dense covering of fur—from the short, black pelage of the howler monkey to the flowing copper coat of the orangutan—as do most other mammals. Yes, we humans have hair on our heads and elsewhere, but compared with our relatives, even the hairiest person is basically bare. read more