Fur - Definition and Overview

For alternative meanings, see Fur (disambiguation).

The term fur refers to the body hair of non-human mammals also known as the pelage (like the term plumage in birds). True fur comes from animals where the coat consists of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair. Not all mammals have fur; animals without fur may have the epithet "naked", as in The Naked Ape and naked mole rat.

Fur usually consists of two main layers:

• Ground hair or underfur - the bottom layer consisting of wool hairs when tend to be shorter, flattened, curly and denser than the top layer.
• Guard hair - the top layer consisting of longer straight shafts of hair that stick out through the underfur. This is usually what's visible in most mammals and contains most of the pigmentation.

Fur clothing

Fur served as an important source of clothing for humans, especially in cold countries, where it remains a popular luxury item. Sources of fur for clothing include:

• beaver
• ermine
• fox
• mink
• otter
• rabbit
• sable
• seal
• cat
• dog

The creation of fur clothing involves leaving the hair on the animal's processed skin; in contrast, leather such as sheepskin involves removing the fur from the skin and using only the skin, and the use of wool involves shearing the animal's hair without harming the animal so that the wool can be regrown. Fake fur designates any synthetic material that mimics the appearance and feel of real fur, without the use of animal products.

The fur trade played an important economic role in the past. Fur trappers explored and opened up large parts of North America, and the fashion for beaver hats led to intense competition for supplies of raw materials. Starting in the latter half of the 20th century, producers and wearers of fur have been criticized because of mounting beliefs that animal trapping and fur farms are cruel, and that the killing of animals for clothing is made unnecessary by modern natural and synthetic fibers.

See also

• Leather
• Tanning