The 'STACHE Thing You'd Expect from These Animals!

By Catrina Thomen, Arts Editor

Courtesy of GOOGLE

A horse, a bird, and an ape; what do these animals have in common? A MUSTACHE!

When it comes to animals, it's often hard to find physical human attributes. However, some similarities can be shocking.

It's not uncommon for some species of mammals and special reptiles to grow facial hair as humans do. Whether it be because of evolutionary factors or a genetic makeup, certain animals can grow mustaches and beards.

Several different breeds of horses grow mustaches, usually breeds such as Shires, Clydesdales, and Friesian horses. The Gypsy Vanner is the most common horse you'll find rocking a mustache.

“The more of this hair gene a horse has, the more hair their body will produce...The hair gene does not discriminate against male or female,” veterinary technician Dani Buckley said. “The mustache can help guide a horse through the grass during feeding, like tentacles on an octopus. Which makes sense for horses like a Gypsy Vanner that usually have an outrageously long mane and forelock that more than likely cover their eyes.”

Nonetheless horses aren't the only ones who share the 'stache. The Bearded Barbet like many birds has special types of feathers that appear like facial hair around their beak. What makes these beards so important is a specialized type of feather called bristles which relate to sensation.

“Rather than having vanes of smooth zippered barbs along the central feather shaft or rachis, the ‘soft’ flight feathers most people are familiar with —bristles are just short exposed feather shafts without soft feather vanes attached,” National Aviary Ornithologist Robert Mulvihill said. “The exact function of the specialized bristle feathers is not known, but around the bill they may provide protection from loose particles getting in a bird’s eyes when it feeds.”

Unlike the Gipsy Vanner and the Bearded Barbet, the orangutan facial hair doesn’t provide any particular evolutionary purposes. In fact, only two subspecies of orangutan have the human-like beard and sometimes ‘stache: the Sumatran and the Bornean.

“[In the Sumatran subspecies, the] hair is longer and lighter-colored than the Bornean species... Both males and females usually develop beards as they age,” experts from the San Diego Zoo said. “[In the Bornean subspecies,] the hair is shinier and the females rarely have any beard at all. ”

There are a lot of human characteristics that can be seen amongst animals, but physical similarities can be hard to find. Animals with mustaches are common amongst a wide variety of species that are uncommon to humans. When you learn what's rocking facial hair, it makes it that much more fun to discover!