Animals with the Softest Fur

Soft fur has a few different causes. A chinchilla packs as many as 60 hairs into each follicle. A sea otter has more than a million hairs in a square inch. A red panda has a woolly undercoat under longer guard hairs. An alpaca grows fleece with no lanolin in it. This page covers 14 animals, from pets you can cuddle to wild species you will only see at a zoo or a museum, and gives what each source says about the coat.

Only two animals on the list come with hair-density figures from a named source: the sea otter and the chinchilla. For the others, the page describes the coat in the words of the aquarium, wildlife agency, museum, breed club, or university that studies the animal. If you like this kind of list, our post on fluffiest animals is a companion list built around fluff instead of softness.

Chinchilla

Animal Diversity Web, run by the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, says chinchilla fur is "extremely dense and soft" and that as many as 60 hairs grow out of one follicle.

Wild chinchillas live in the barren, arid mountains of northern Chile at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 meters, which is about 9,800 to 16,400 feet. Pet chinchillas keep their coats clean with dust baths, and our guide to chinchilla dust baths covers what to put in the bath.

Angora Rabbit

The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) calls the English Angora's coat "silky, luxurious wool" that is "sought after for spinning." The English is one of four Angora breeds the ARBA recognizes, and the only one classed as a compact breed. Its maximum weight is 7.5 pounds, about 3.4 kilograms.

People often ask whether angora wool or chinchilla fur is softer. No source we found measures the two against each other, so a ranking would be a guess. They are soft in different ways. The chinchilla's coat is short and extremely dense. The Angora's is long, silky wool that people spin into yarn.

Sea Otter

The sea otter has the densest fur of any animal, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. At its thickest the two-layer coat holds more than a million hairs per square inch. That is more than 155,000 hairs in each square centimeter, since a square inch is 6.45 square centimeters.

The coat does a job that blubber does for whales and seals. The US Fish and Wildlife Service says sea otters lack blubber and rely on "clean, dense, water resistant fur for insulation against the cold." Oil on that fur "can destroy its insulating properties and lead to hypothermia and death." Staying warm also takes fuel: an adult eats 20 to 30 percent of its body mass in food each day.

Persian Cat

The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) describes the Persian's coat as "silky in texture, yet dense and full of body." A coat like that tangles. The CFA says a steel or Teflon-coated comb with long, coarse, and fine teeth is "essential for keeping the coat free of mats and tangles," and that kittens should learn to accept grooming early.

The CFA says the breed's name "comes from its presumed country of origin" and that nobody knows precisely how it reached western Europe. In 1626 an Italian trader, Pietro della Valle, returned from Persia with a heavily coated longhaired cat. The Persian was one of the six foundation breeds the CFA set up when it started in 1906.

Alpaca

The Alpaca Owners Association says alpaca fleece is "recognized globally for its fineness, softness, light-weight, durability, excellent thermal qualities, and luster," and that in general it is stronger, lighter, warmer, and more resilient than wool from most sheep breeds. Because it has no lanolin, the association says, it is ready to spin after only nominal cleaning.

The association also says the finer grades, sold as Baby Alpaca, are believed to be hypo-allergenic, which means they do not irritate skin the way sheep's wool sometimes does.

Red Panda

Smithsonian's National Zoo describes the red panda's coat in two layers: "a soft, dense woolly undercoat covered by long, coarse guard hairs." The fur even covers the feet, and Animal Diversity Web says the soles are covered with dense white hair.

The zoo also says red pandas can become dormant in significantly cold temperatures, lowering their metabolic rate and raising it every few hours to look for food. Our post on red pandas has more photos.

Arctic Fox

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says arctic foxes molt twice a year. White foxes begin to shed their long winter fur in early April, and by late June they wear short brown summer fur. The change back begins in September and October, and "by November the luxurious white winter coat is complete."

The department also says the fox's paws are covered in dense fur during winter, unlike other canids, which is why its species name, lagopus, means "rabbit footed." Blue-phase foxes stay dark or charcoal all year. Fully grown arctic foxes weigh 6 to 10 pounds, so a thick winter coat makes a small animal look stocky.

Vicuna

Animal Diversity Web says vicuna wool is "extremely fine and soft" and "much finer than any of the other" camelid species, which include llamas, alpacas, and guanacos. Vicunas live on semiarid grasslands in the Andes at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 meters, about 9,800 to 16,400 feet.

Demand for the fiber put them at risk. Animal Diversity Web says overexploitation almost drove vicunas to extinction in the 1960s, and numbers are now rising. It also describes an Inca system in which villagers caught vicunas every four years, sheared them, and released them back into the wild.

Bernese Mountain Dog

The American Kennel Club (AKC) says the Bernese Mountain Dog has a double coat, with a longer outer coat and a woolly undercoat. Males weigh 80 to 115 pounds and females 70 to 95 pounds, so there is plenty of coat to pet.

The soft coat comes with shedding. The AKC says Berners shed a fair amount, even more during the shedding season that occurs twice a year, and recommends weekly brushing and daily brushing during the shed. Our guide to Bernese mountain dog shedding covers what to expect through the year.

Lionhead Rabbit

The ARBA says the most eye-catching feature of the Lionhead is the distinctive mane around its head, which gives it the look of a male lion. The breed has only been recognized in the United States since 2014, and in 2018 a Lionhead won its first Best in Show at the ARBA Convention. Its maximum weight is 3.75 pounds, about 1.7 kilograms.

If you are thinking about one as a pet, read our guide to lionhead rabbits.

Koala

The Australian Museum describes the koala's "thick ash-grey fur, white chest and round head with fluffy ears." Animal Diversity Web calls the fur dense and woolly, gray to brown on top, and says it varies with geographic location.

Koala fur was also a trade good. National Geographic says koala numbers plummeted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from hunting for their fur, and Animal Diversity Web says public outcry led to legal protection after 1927. Today the main threats are habitat loss, land clearing, and bushfires.

Ermine (Stoat)

Animal Diversity Web lists the species Mustela erminea as the ermine. Its fur is short and moderately fine, white in winter, with a black tip on the tail. In summer the back is chocolate brown. It is a small animal: males weigh 67 to 116 grams, about 2.4 to 4.1 ounces, and females 25 to 80 grams, about 0.9 to 2.8 ounces.

The white winter fur has long been used in trimming coats and making stoles. Animal Diversity Web notes that demand for pelts has recently decreased.

Sable

Animal Diversity Web says the sable's winter pelage is longer and more luxurious than its summer coat. Fur color ranges from light to dark brown, and many individuals have a light patch of fur on the throat.

The sable has been hunted for its fur throughout human history, and numbers were severely reduced by hunting early in the 20th century. Hunting is now allowed only for licensed persons, and fur farms were set up so wild populations can recover.

Flemish Giant Rabbit

The ARBA says the Flemish Giant is believed to have originated in Flanders, Belgium, and was bred as early as the 16th century. It was exported to America in the early 1890s. The ARBA sets no maximum weight and says these rabbits often weigh over 20 pounds, about 9 kilograms.

The ARBA lists fur among the breed's uses, and a rabbit this large has a lot of coat to stroke. Our Flemish giant rabbit guide covers size and space before you bring one home.

Sources

• Monterey Bay Aquarium. Sea otter.
• US Fish and Wildlife Service. Southern sea otter.
• Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Chinchilla lanigera, Ailurus fulgens, Vicugna vicugna, Phascolarctos cinereus, Mustela erminea, and Martes zibellina.
• American Rabbit Breeders Association. English Angora, Lionhead, and Flemish Giant.
• Cat Fanciers' Association. Persian.
• Alpaca Owners Association. Alpaca fiber.
• Smithsonian's National Zoo. Red panda.
• Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Arctic fox species profile.
• American Kennel Club. Bernese Mountain Dog.
• Australian Museum. Koala.
• National Geographic. Koala.