A vibrissae, or whisker is a long bristle around the mouth of some animals, mostly mammals, that are specialised for tactile sensing.
Some animals, such as cats, also have whiskers above their eyes and on the backs of their legs.
Humans and anteaters are the only two mammals known not to sport any vibrissae, or whiskers that act as organs of touch.
In medicine, the term vibrissae also refers to the thick hairs found inside human nostrils.
Catfish are the only animals that naturally have an odd number of whiskers.
No two lions have the same whisker pattern.
A walrus' whiskers are 40 times thicker than human hair.
The length of a chinchilla's whiskers can be more than a third of its body length.
Cats use their whiskers to gauge whether they can fit through an opening.
Cats often avoid consuming food or water from sides of their bowls to prevent 'whisker fatigue.' Whiskers brushing against a bowl can trigger sensory overload, causing them pain and stress whenever eating or drinking.
Hamsters are near-sighted and color blind. In order to compensate, they use their whiskers and their sense of smell to navigate.
Deprived of sight and hearing, seals can still accurately pinpoint the locations of fish because they have 1,500 nerve endings in their whiskers.
A mouse's whiskers can detect temperature changes as well as help it feel its way about.
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| Cat's whiskers. By Emelie Schäfer from The Netherlands |
Some animals, such as cats, also have whiskers above their eyes and on the backs of their legs.
Humans and anteaters are the only two mammals known not to sport any vibrissae, or whiskers that act as organs of touch.
In medicine, the term vibrissae also refers to the thick hairs found inside human nostrils.
Catfish are the only animals that naturally have an odd number of whiskers.
No two lions have the same whisker pattern.
A walrus' whiskers are 40 times thicker than human hair.
The length of a chinchilla's whiskers can be more than a third of its body length.
 |
| A chinchilla with large macrovibrissae. By © Salix / |
Cats use their whiskers to gauge whether they can fit through an opening.
Cats often avoid consuming food or water from sides of their bowls to prevent 'whisker fatigue.' Whiskers brushing against a bowl can trigger sensory overload, causing them pain and stress whenever eating or drinking.
Hamsters are near-sighted and color blind. In order to compensate, they use their whiskers and their sense of smell to navigate.
Deprived of sight and hearing, seals can still accurately pinpoint the locations of fish because they have 1,500 nerve endings in their whiskers.
A mouse's whiskers can detect temperature changes as well as help it feel its way about.
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