Fur

Opossum fur

Fur is the hair covering of non-human mammals, particularly those mammals with extensive body hair that is soft and thick. The stiffer bristles on animals such as pigs are not generally referred to as fur.

The term pelage – first known use in English c. 1828 – (French, from Middle French, from poil hair, from Old French peilss, from Latin pilus,[1]) is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat. Fur is also used to refer to animal pelts which have been processed into leather with the hair still attached. The words fur or furry are also used, more casually, to refer to hair-like growths or formations, particularly when the subject being referred to exhibits a dense coat of fine, soft "hairs." If layered, rather than grown as a single coat, it may consist of short down hairs, long guard hairs, and, in some cases, medium awn hairs. Mammals with reduced amounts of fur are often called "naked", as with the naked mole-rat, or "hairless", as with hairless dogs.

An animal with commercially valuable fur is known within the fur industry as a furbearer.[2] The use of fur as clothing or decoration is considered controversial by some people: most animal welfare advocates object to the trapping and killing of wildlife, and to the confinement and killing of animals on fur farms.

Composition

Down, awn and guard hairs of a domestic tabby cat

Fur usually consists of two main layers:

Mammals with well-developed down and guard hairs also usually have large numbers of awn hairs. These begin their growth much as guard hairs do, but change their mode of growth, usually when less than half the length of the hair has emerged. This portion of the hair is called awn. The rest of the growth is thin and wavy, much like down hair. In many species of mammals, the awn hairs comprise the bulk of the visible coat. The proximal part of the awn hair shares the function of the down hairs, whereas the distal part aids the water-shedding function of the guard hairs, though their thin basal portion prevents their being erected like true guard hairs.

Computer-generated wet fur

The modern fur arrangement is known to have occurred as far back as docodonts, haramiyidans and eutriconodonts, with Castorocauda, Megaconus and Spinolestes preserving compound follicles with guard hair and underfur.

Mammals without fur

Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals; however, several species or breeds have considerably reduced amounts of fur. These are often called "naked" or "hairless".

Natural selection

Some mammals naturally have reduced amounts of fur. Some semiaquatic or aquatic mammals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds and hippopotamuses have evolved hairlessness, presumably to reduce resistance through water. The naked mole-rat has evolved hairlessness, perhaps as an adaptation to their subterranean life-style. Two of the largest extant mammals, the elephant and the rhinoceros, are largely hairless. The hairless bat is mostly hairless but does have short bristly hairs around its neck, on its front toes, and around the throat sac, along with fine hairs on the head and tail membrane. Most hairless animals cannot go in the sun for long periods of time, or stay in the cold for too long. [3]

Humans are the only primate species that have undergone significant hair loss. The hairlessness of humans compared to related species may be due to loss of functionality in the pseudogene KRTHAP1 (which helps produce keratin) in the human lineage about 240,000 years ago.[4] Mutations in the gene HR can lead to complete hair loss, though this is not typical in humans.[5]

Sheep have not become hairless; however, their pelage is usually referred to as "wool" rather than fur.

Artificial selection

At times, when a hairless domesticated animal is discovered, usually owing to a naturally occurring genetic mutation, humans may intentionally inbreed those hairless individuals and, after multiple generations, artificially create breeds that are hairless. There are several breeds of hairless cats, perhaps the most commonly known being the Sphynx cat. Similarly, there are several breeds of hairless dogs. Other examples of artificially selected hairless animals include the hairless guinea-pig, nude mouse, and the hairless rat.

Use in clothing

Carl Ben Eielson, US Pilot and Arctic explorator wearing a seal fur coat

In clothing, fur is usually leather with the hair retained for its aesthetic and insulating properties. Fur has long served as a source of clothing for humans, including Neanderthals. Animal furs used in garments and trim may be dyed bright colors or to mimic exotic animal patterns, or shorn down to imitate the feel of a soft velvet fabric. The term "a fur" is often used to refer to a fur coat, wrap, or shawl.

Usual animal sources for fur clothing and fur trimmed accessories include fox, rabbit, mink, beavers, ermine, otters, sable, seals, coyotes, chinchilla, raccoon, and possum. The import and sale of seal products was banned in the U.S. in 1972 over conservation concerns about Canadian seals. The import and sale is still banned even though the Marine Animal Response Society estimates the harp seal population is thriving at approximately 8 million.[6] The import, export and sales of domesticated cat and dog fur were also banned in the U.S. under the Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000.[7]

The manufacturing of fur clothing involves obtaining animal pelts where the hair is left on the animal's processed skin. In contrast, making leather involves removing the hair from the hide or pelt and using only the skin. The use of wool involves shearing the animal's fleece from the living animal, so that the wool can be regrown but sheepskin shearling is made by retaining the fleece to the leather and shearing it.[8] Shearling is used for boots, jackets and coats and is probably the most common type of skin worn.

Fur is also used to make felt. A common felt is made from beaver fur and is used in high-end cowboy hats.[9]

Controversy

Red fox furs

Most animal rights activists are opposed to the trapping and killing of wildlife, and the confinement and killing of animals on fur farms. According to Humane Society International, over 8 million animals are trapped yearly for fur, while more than 30 million were raised in fur farms.[10]

According to Statistics Canada, 2.6 million fur-bearing animals raised on farms were killed in 2010. Another 700,000 were killed for fur by traps.[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pelage". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ Peterson, Judy Monroe (2011-01-15). Varmint Hunting. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 9781448823666.
  3. ↑ Thomson, Paul (2002). "Cheiromeles torquatus". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Winter, H.; Langbein, L.; Krawczak, M.; Cooper, D. N.; Jave-Suarez, L. F.; Rogers, M. A.; Praetzel, S.; Heidt, P. J.; Schweizer, J. (2001). "Human type I hair keratin pseudogene phihHaA has functional orthologs in the chimpanzee and gorilla: Evidence for recent inactivation of the human gene after the Pan-Homo divergence". Human Genetics. 108 (1): 37–42. PMID 11214905. doi:10.1007/s004390000439.
  5. ↑ "Molecular evolution of HR, a gene that regulates the postnatal cycle of the hair follicle". Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  6. ↑ "Harp Seal", Marine Animal Response Society.
  7. ↑ Rules and Regulations Under the Fur Products Labeling Act
  8. ↑ Australian Wool Corporation, Australian Wool Classing, Raw Wool Services, 1990.
  9. ↑ Chamber's journal, Published by Orr and Smith, 1952, pg 200, Original from the University of Michigan.
  10. ↑ Humane Society International Fur Trade
  11. ↑ "Fur production, by province and territory"
  12. ↑ The fur industry. Peta, n.d.
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