Updated: June 1, 2023
Hair loss is an issue that has been affecting humans through ages. But, now hair loss has started affecting animals too. The reason for hair loss in animals is not known. The cause for hairless animals can be due to some disease or even old age. Some mammals are bald like the Sphynx cat and the naked mole rat, to name a few. Some of these are bred to be born hairless. Some other animals without hair can be due to a genetic or even an autoimmune disorder like Alopecia or stress.
Alopecia is a condition where hair loss is technically from the head or body. The other factors that affect hair loss are aging, vitamin or mineral deficiency, diseases, parasite infections and genetic mutations.
The following animals and birds in the list are hairless animals and they don’t seem to be bothered by this. These animals without hair are still cute and adorable.
1.Rabbit
This cute little bunny was born in the year 2009, surprisingly without any hair. This unique feature made this rabbit an internet sensation. Unlike his siblings, this guy took a few months to grow his first fur. Luckily, after a few months, this rabbit started growing normal amount of fur and turned into a normal looking bunny. His parents are normal fluffy rabbits and even his two siblings were born with fur while two were born hairless. His sister sadly couldn’t make it, but this rabbit took a few weeks before the first signs of fur started appearing. The furless gene is found in Rex coated breeds, which is the reason this rabbit was born without any fur. Rabbits with this gene are born bald on the forehead or elsewhere. If a baby has two furless genes, then you are born bald like this one.
2.Bear
Dolores is a South American brown bear affected with baldness. This bear has inherited a rare hair condition that has led to hair loss. The vets at the Leipzig Zoo where Dolores has been residing are surprised at her hair loss and have associated the condition to a genetic defect that has been passed on. This brown bear doesn’t suffer from any other ailment except for hair loss. She has lost all her hair on her body and left with a few tufts around her head. The vets are baffled with this condition affecting other female bears in the zoo. These bald bears have certainly become the crowd pullers of the zoo.
3.Hedgehog
Betty, a hedgehog has an unexplained skin condition that has led to no spines on her body. She is at an animal rescue centre where she is under good care and attention. Due to this condition, she is shy to make friends with her hedgehog friends. Foxy lodge Wildlife Rescue in Norfolk, England is taking good care of her, but they have not been able to find the reason for her not having any spines. Without the spines Betty can’t protect herself from predators and find it difficult to keep herself warm during the winters. Her handlers are hoping that her spine grows back so she can gain confidence to mingle with the other hedgehogs. With this condition she is lacking confidence to make friends and is self-conscious about her looks.
4.Parrot
Oscar, a female Moluccan Cockatoo was an internet sensation way back in 2008 with her videos almost going viral on the internet. She resides at the Broward County Humane Society in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She suffers from Psittancine beak and feather disease. She plucks her own feather as they would irritate her. Oscar is a star at the BCHS, and has three heat lamps, a playgym, toys and a small bath bowl. She greets and plays with everyone at the centre until bedtime where she is placed in her cage. Her featherless body might disturb you at first, but it is her friendly and charming nature that has the ability to win you over.
5.Raccoon
This raccoon has lost his hair over a course of few months and now looks like a new species all together. This Raccoon was spotted in Toronto, Canada and had lost lots of hair over the winter. Initially the Raccoon had light ginger hair, but now he is completely bald. These mammals develop this condition due to a parasitic infection that causes large scale hair loss. It is a common phenomenon in wild animals and not something rare.
6.Squirrels
Squirrels often lose hair if they are infected with fungal or mange diseases. They might experience hair fall due to inherited conditions. Even though the hair loss looks serious, the disease itself is not infectious to other pets or humans. Mange mites live in the nests of squirrels so treating these squirrels is pointless as they can get infected again when they return to their nests. The best treatment would be to leave such squirrels alone as they might recover on their own.
7.Guinea Pig
With a hairless body and pink color skin you would mistake this tiny guinea pig for a piglet instead of a rodent. These skinny pigs are a hairless breed of guinea pig and have hair only on their muzzles, feet and legs. The hairless guinea pig has to eat slightly more to keep itself warm and to maintain body heat. The body is usually full with no spine or ribs and they come in many colors and patterns, mainly the Tortoiseshell, Himalayan, Dutch and several others. The skinny pig is a cross of the hairless lab strain and the haired guinea pigs.
8.Penguin
This bald penguin was born without feathers and was rejected by his parents making her chances of survival grim. Thanks to the effort by the keepers of an aquarium in China’s Liaoning province, this penguin has now been united with his family. When he was born, his parents discarded him immediately. They would kick him away and left him on the icy ground to die. The penguin’s lack of feathers and the weak body was due to difficulty in digesting food and absorption of nutrients. With constant efforts of the keepers at the aquarium, the bird managed to grow back his feathers and was slowly re-introduced into his family.
9.Rat
Hairless rats are unique and they require extra care compared to their haired counterparts. They need some care to keep their bodies warm and for their sensitive skins to stay healthy. Bald rats are a variation of the fancy rat. They look similar to the regular rat except that they have pink and smooth skin. Albino hairless rats have red eyes, while majority of other rats have normal black eyes. Hairless rats are produced by breeding different combination of genes, but the hairless lab rats provide the researchers with valuable information on immune system and genetic kidney diseases.
10.Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees like other monkeys, apes and the humans also suffer from hair loss or alopecia. This condition makes these animals lose all their body hair making them an object of attraction in zoos all over the world. Due to hair loss, the chimps muscle definition can be seen, making them look almost human like. The reason for hair loss is not known in these animals, but since they are closer to humans, stress is a factor that cannot be ruled out.
11.Dog
If you love dogs and have allergies, then the hairless breed would be great option. The advantage of owning a hairless dog is that you don’t have to worry about vacuuming and brushing. They are maintenance free. Machu Picchu is a Peruvian hypoallergenic hairless dog that was offered to the US President Barrack Obama as a pet in White House. One of his daughters is allergic to most dog breeds. Peruvian hairless dogs are great for sensitive people due to the lack of hair.
12.Wombat
Meet Karmann, she is an orphaned Wombat from Australia. She was rescued by an animal lover along with a large one. He rescued her from the pouch of her dying mother, who had been run over. She was rushed to a wildlife shelter home in Melbourne, where she spent three months in an intensive care unit. Wombats are not supposed to leave their mothers pouch until seven months old and this explains why she was kept in an incubator. This is also the reason for her hairless body.
13.Baboon
This hairless baboon was spotted alone wandering in the African bush by a British lady in Zimbabwe. She is a four foot tall female baboon with a long face. Instead of being with her friends, this Baboon seems to be a loner. She is suffering from the rare case of Alopecia, just like humans. Since she was spotted in the wild the reason for her baldness is still not known.
14.Kangaroo
This kangaroo was abandoned by her mother at the Serengeti Park in Germany. She may be a Joey, but this cute looking female kangaroo is known as Sabrina. She was brought to the zoo after she was discovered lying on the grass in a Kangaroo enclosure. No one knew her mom Umel was pregnant. These animals do not develop full hair until they emerge from the pouch. To keep Sabrina’s body warm, she had to be carried close to the body or wrapped in a blanket. She is fed special milk five times a day and now she has started putting on some weight.
15.Hamster
Hairless Syrian hamsters have no fur due to a genetic disorder. These kinds of hamster pups are born to hairless hamster parents with the hairless gene and are not to be used for any breeding program.
Hairless animals are born due to some disease or genetic disorder. Even though these animals without hair look different and special, they still have the same caring and affectionate nature like their hairy counterparts. Animals without hair are equally loving and expect the same kind of treatment from their human friends.
Reference
https://featuredcreature.com
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/
