The Real Fashion Victims
Here are some facts about some of the animals used in the fur trade.
Chinchillas
Chinchilla belongs to the rodent family, and is a popular indoor pet.
They have sweet friendly nature.
These rodents are odourless and because of its thick fur it does not attract fleas or pests.
Chinchillas are native to the Andes Mountains in South America. They got their name from a South American Indian tribe which means 'Little Chinta'.
There are several fur colours. Some of the most common fur colours of chinchilla are grey, beige, ebony, white, black, violet and so on. The length of their body is 9 - 12 inches and they weigh around one or two pounds. Their eyes are typically dark or ruby red in colour.
They have such a dense fur and in each and every hair follicle, there is almost 80 - 100 hair.
In general, a female chinchilla breeds two times in a year. On an average, their gestation period is around 111 days.
Baby chinchillas are known as kits. When they are born, they have their eyes opened, their body is fully covered with fur and they start their playful activities soon after birth.
Chinchillas are nocturnal creatures. That means that they sleep throughout the day and the night-time is their play time!
A unique feature of chinchillas is that they tend to release a part of their fur when they feel scared. However, the fur grows back on its own. This helps them to mislead their predator when they are under attack.
An average lifespan of a chinchilla is somewhere between 10 - 20 years.
They were hunted in large scale to obtain fur from their skin. As a result, the species was almost on the verge of extinction.
Raccoon Dogs
They are called Raccoon dogs due to their resemblance to raccoons.
Raccoon Dogs grow to about the size of small Cocker Spaniel. They stand about 9” tall and are between 20/23” long, excluding tail. Their tails are about 7” long.
They are indigenous to Asia.
They live around 8 years in the wild, but only 1% live to see 5. Around 88% die in their first year.
They live near water and are omnivores.
They live in pairs or small family groups, and are monogamous.
They are mainly nocturnal.
If winters are harsh Raccoon dogs will hibernate. They hibernate is pairs, maintaining body contact with one another while sleeping. They are the only Canids to hibernate.
They are “hands on” fathers. They will feed their pregnant mate, and help raise the young.
Females are pregnant for 9 weeks and have litters of between 4 and 9.
Pups weigh between 3 to 4oz at birth. Their eyes stay closed for between 7 and 10 days. They emerge from the den after around 4 weeks and are weaned in around 5 weeks , but will stay with their parents for months after.
They like to climb trees.
Raccoon dogs are not aggressive. They will flee or curl up in a ball for protection.
They are not noisy as adults, but their vocal range is more similar to cats than a dogs.
In Japan they have been hunted to near extinction for their fur, meat and their bones – which are used in traditional medicines.
Mink
Mink are semiaquatic carnivorous mammal of the genus Mustela.
One species, Mustela vison, is found over most of North America and another, M. lutreola, inhabits Europe–where it is now rare except in Russia–and central Asia.
The mink has a slender, arched body, with a long neck, short legs, and a bushy tail. The fur is thick and shiny; in wild strains it is rich brown all over the body, except for a white throat patch.
Like other members of the weasel family, minks have musk glands that produce an acrid secretion.
They are excellent swimmers; they usually live near water, where they catch much of their food.
The American mink feeds on aquatic mammals, such as muskrat, as well as fish, frogs, crustaceans, and birds.
They are about 20 to 28 in. (51—71 cm) long, including the 7 to 9 in. (18—23 cm) tail.
Descendants of escaped farm animals have established mink populations where none previously existed, e.g., in Great Britain and Iceland.
Minks are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Mustelidae.
An early behavioral study was performed in the 1960s that assessed visual learning ability in mink, ferrets, skunks, and house cats. Animals were tested on their ability to recognize objects, learn their valences and make object selections from memory. Mink were found to outperform ferrets, skunks and cats in this task.
Fur Seals
They are carnivores.
Average life span in the wild is between 12 to 30 years
They grow between 4 to 10 ft (1.2 to 3.1 m) and weigh up to 700 lbs (317 kg)
There are many species of seals named for the fine fur that makes them so attractive to hunters. The large northern fur seal, found in chilly northern waters, was hunted to near extinction during the 19th century. These animals were protected by law in 1911, and populations later rebounded to 1.3 million animals.
There are eight species of southern fur seals, all smaller than their northern relative. They include the Guadalupe fur seal of Baja California, the South African fur seal, the South American fur seal, and the Australian fur seal.
Fur seals have sharp eyesight and keen hearing. They have small ears, unlike the earless or hair seals.
Although they breathe air, seals are most at home in the water and may stay at sea for weeks at a time eating fish, squid, birds, and tiny shrimp-like krill. Fur seals may swim by themselves or gather in small groups.
When breeding season arrives, however, these social animals gather on shore in very large numbers. Powerful males, known as bulls, establish territories and gather harems of up to 40 females, battling their rivals to establish dominance. During this season, coastlines are filled with roaring, growling, honking seals.
Female fur seals, or cows, give birth during this breeding season, then mate again just a few days later. The following year they will return to give birth to a single pup after a nearly yearlong pregnancy, and mate once again to continue the cycle.
Mother seals and pups find each other using a familiar call. A study in Alaska found that mothers and offspring were still able to recognize each other’s' calls even after a separation of four years.
Many fur seal populations have not rebounded from extensive hunting, and now face additional threats from climate change and overfishing, which can limit their prey.
Harp Seals
They are carnivores
Average life span in the wild is 20 years
They grow between 5.25 to 6.25 ft (1.6 to 1.9 m) and weigh up to 400 lbs (180 kg)
Harp seals spend relatively little time on land and prefer to swim in the North Atlantic and Arctic
Oceans. These sleek swimmers cruise the chilly waters and feed on fish and crustaceans.
They can remain submerged for up to 15 minutes.
Harp seals are sometimes called saddleback seals because of the dark, saddle like marking on the back and sides of their light yellow or grey bodies.
Both sexes return each year to breeding grounds in Newfoundland, the Greenland Sea, and the White Sea. On this turf males fight for their mates, battling with sharp teeth and powerful flippers.
When the mating ends, females gather in groups to give birth. Young harp seals are born on the ice, and mothers identify their own offspring from the multitudes by their smell. The young seals are famous for their snowy white coats. This fluffy fur is highly valued and has drawn hunters to the Newfoundland breeding grounds for two centuries. During the past several decades these grounds have become the scene of a human conflict between sealers and outraged environmentalists and animal rights activists. Modern hunts are better regulated than in the past, but the harp seal remains perhaps the most commercially important seal, with hundreds of thousands killed each year.
This is not an extensive list – cats and dogs are also used, as are beavers, bears, foxes and rabbits.
