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Why aren’t humans covered in hair like other primates are? (continued)
Anthony Woodward
Portland, Oregon, US
David Muir’s hypothesis that being almost completely hairless enabled hominins to chase down prey animals on the savannah without overheating is inconsistent with the data.
The fastest mammal on the savannah is the cheetah, which can run up to 110 kilometres per hour despite its thick coat of hair. Cheetahs evolved about 8.5 million years ago, before the human lineage split from that of the chimpanzee, about 7 million years ago. Two other mammals strut almost naked across the savannah: the elephant and…
