Rehabilitated zoo giraffe's hair used to make traditional Japanese brush

Hair from a giraffe's mane being used to make a Kumanofude brush (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

KUMANO, Hiroshima -- Hair from the mane of a zoo giraffe is being used to make a Kumanofude brush, a traditional product from the town of Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture.

The hair being used for this brush fell out of the mane of a reticulated giraffe named Hagumi that was suffering from leg problems.

Born last spring at the Asa Zoological Park in the city of Hiroshima, Hagumi could not stand at first because her hind tendons were overstretched. Her keepers worked to train her gait with braces fitted to her legs, and she became able to walk without the devices in autumn.

Hagumi walks without braces at the Asa Zoological Park in Hiroshima. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Kumanofude craftsman Masaki Sanemori, 46, was working on the special brush on Saturday, adjusting its length and the thickness of the point at a workshop in Kumano.

The Kumanofude Cooperative is working to utilize the fallen-out hair of zoo animals, as it has become difficult to obtain hair for brushes in recent years due to growing awareness of animal welfare.

The Hagumi brush will be completed at the end of May and displayed at the zoological park.

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