Sitting here in agony with my latest sunburn, I got to wondering:
Do any other species get sunburn?
I’m not talking about heatstroke, nor am I talking about species that avoid the day, nor am I talking about animals that wouldn’t do well in warmer climates.
I’m talking about good ol’ fashioned sunburn: The I’ve-been-out-in-the-sun-without-wearing-sunscreen-and-now-my-skin-will-be-red-and-itchy-for-the-next-several-days-somebody-please-pass-me-the-aloe-lotion! variety.
When I was a kid and used to ride horses there was a grey horse with a very pink nose and muzzle that we would apply sunscreen to during the summer. I recall another bay horse with a pale nose that received the same thing. I seem to recall that it was a child’s sunscreen that was used. I never saw a sunburn, but I assume the use of the sunscreen was why.
There is nothing special about the human skin that causes it to burn other than that it isn’t protected by hair the way most animals are. In much the same way as we don’t generally burn on our heads under our hair, animals don’t burn under their hair or fur, but exposed skin/thin hair will allow the sun through to the skin.
I know a harlequin great dane that gets sunburned on her nose. (Well, not her black nose, but the bridge of her nose that’s covered by white fur.) So, light colored dogs with sparse, short hair get sunburned.
I’ve known dogs that have actually got skin cancer on their stomachs, because dog’s love to lie on their backs with their stomach to the sun. Of course the dogs with hair on their stomach don’t get it much.
Sunburn is caused by the penetration of UV rays some small depth into the skin, where it can cause damage. That damage isn’t just a quirk of a few species, it’s a property of our cellular materials - you can kill bacteria with UV, making UV lights useful for food sanitation. One of the reasons troglodytes (cave animals) turn clear and/or white is that they no longer need pigmentation to block UV.
So I don’t think there’s a single species that can’t get sunburned… but humans are one of only a few species that don’t have enough protection “built in” through scales, fur, exoskeleton, shells, etc. And we minimize our own potential for built in protection by staying inside and wearing clothes so much.
American Hairless Terriers, like the two that I have, get sunburns on the portion of their skin that isn’t dark brown or red.
I do put sunscreen on them if I expect them to be outside for an extended period. But sometimes, I let them out in the early morning and forget that they’re out there. Then at 11am, I remember, and my poor little puppies are extra pink in their pink.
Silly dogs will even lie on their tummies in the sun, even if they’ve got a burn going on.
Yup, horses do. When we showed our Morgan gelding, Mick, we had to put sunscreen on his muzzle if we were showing in an outdoor ring. Poor little guy, once was enough for him
You don’t need to get sunburned to get vitamin D. The amount of sunlight received needed to trigger vitamin D formation is much lower than that needed for a sunburn.
Elephants often throw dust or dirt on their backs, which acts as a primitive sunblock.
And hippos often get burned on the portions of their backs that stick out of the river (they tend to stay submerged for most of the day, and come out to graze mostly at night).
