Do Animals Blow Their Noses?
They might not reach for a hanky, but some animals—including primates and dogs—have their own devices for clearing nasal passages.
Why does a gorilla have such big nostrils? Well, have you seen the size of those fingers?
That’s the perfect joke for this Saturday’s Weird Animal Question of the Week, which comes from National Geographic's own Deputy Research Director Brad Scriber. He asked: “Do any other animals blow their noses?” (Related: "How Do Elephants and Other Animals Sneeze?")
They don’t use tissues, but some animals do clear their noses on purpose—as opposed to waiting for a sneeze.
“We see the apes blow their noses all the time"—either one nostril at a time or both simultaneously, Tracy Fenn, supervisor of mammals at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida, says via email.
Often gorillas opt to just use their fingers
