Facts & Reports

Amazing Facts About Furry Animals

Things you might not know about animals killed for their fur.

American Mink (Mustela vison)

• The American mink's closest relative is the kolonok of Asia.
• Maximum heaviness occurs in autumn.
• They can achieve up to speeds of 6.5km/h.
• In warm water (24 degrees c), the American mink can swim for three hours without stopping,  in cold water they can die within twenty minutes.
• Mating lasts from 10 minutes to 4 hours.

European Mink (Mustela lutreola)

• Males are 80% bigger than the females.
• Mink are mainly nocturnal.
• Mink live for about 6 years in the wild.
• They are also know as Russian Mink.
• They are not closely related to the American Mink.

Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes)

• The earliest fossil specimens were uncovered in Barany, Hungary dating from between 3.4-1.8 million years ago.
• As of 2010, 46 species are recognised.
• The tail is longer than half the body length (70% of head and body length).
• The forepaws have five digits, while the hind feet have four.
• During lactation, the belly fur of vixens may turn brick red.
• They can hear mice squeaking from about 100 metres away.
• If the mother dies before the kits are independent, the father takes over as their provider.
• Their average sleep time is 9.8 hours.
• They can reach up to 5 octaves (vocal range).
• They are absent only in Iceland, the Arctic Islands, some parts of Siberia, and in the extreme deserts.

Arctic Fox (Vulpes Lagopus)

• They have acute hearing and can hear prey under the snow.
• Both mother and father raise the young together.
• When overabundance of food is hunted, they will bury what the family cannot eat and go back in scarce times.
• The Arctic fox is the only native land mammal to Iceland. It came to the isolated North Atlantic Island at the end of the last ice age, walking over the frozen sea.

Chinchilla (Brevicaudata)

• They can jump up to 6ft (1.8m).
• The are born fully furred and with their eyes open.
• Litters are usually small in number, predominantly twins.
• They have extremely soft fur, which is caused by the sprouting of 60 hairs on average from each hair follicle.
• They lack the ability to sweat, so if temperature's get above 25 degrees c (80 degrees Fahrenheit) they may suffer heatstroke.
• They do not bathe in water because the dense fur prevents air-drying, retaining moisture close to the skin, which can cause fungus growth or fur rot.
• Their fur is so thick it resists parasites such as fleas.
• Their cochlear size is close to that of humans.

Lynx (Felis Lynx)

• Lynx means "light, brightness" in Indo-European, in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes.
• The Iberian lynx is the most endangered cat species in the world, if the species dies out it would be the first feline extinction since the Smilodon 10,000 years ago.
• The lynx is considered the national animal of the Republic of Macedonia and is displayed on the reverse of the Fyrom 5 Denar Coin.

Coyote (Canis latrans)

• The name coyote is borrowed from Mexican Spanish, ultimately derived from the Nahuatl word coyote. Its scientific name, Carius Latrans means, "barking dog" in Latin.
• Compared to wolves, and similarly to domestic dogs, coyotes have a higher density of sweat glands on their paw pads.
• During pursuit, a coyote may reach speeds of up to 43mph(69km/h) and can jump a distance of over 13ft(4m).
• They were once essentially diurnal (actibe during the day), but have adapted to more nocturnal behaviour due to pressure from humans.
• They have been known to live a maximum of 10 years in the wild.
• They seem to be better than dogs at observational learning.
• Litter sizes range from 1 to 9 pups; these large litters act as compensatory measures against the high juvenile mortality rate, with approximately 50-70% of pups not surviving to adulthood.
• Both parents feed the weaned pups with regurgitated food.
• Despite being extensively hunted, the coyote is one of few medium to large sized animals that has enlarged its range since human encroachment began.

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

• More than half the world's rabbit population resides in North America.
• The average sleep time of a rabbit is about 8.4 hours.
• In a season, a single female rabbit can produce as many as 800 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
• Due to the nutritious nature of rabbit milk kits only need to be nursed for a few minutes once or twice a day.
• Their diet contains a large amount of cellulose, which is hard to digest. Rabbits solve this problem by passing two distinct types of faeces: hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets, the latter of which are immediately eaten.
• Rabbits are incapable of vomiting.
• It was commonly believed that pregnancy tests were based on the idea that a rabbit would die if injected with a pregnant woman's urine. This is not true. However, if the urine contained hcg, a hormone found in the bodies of pregnant women, the rabbit would display ovarian changes.

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

• They are noted for their intelligence, with studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks up to three years later.
• Members of the expedition of Christopher Columbus discovered the first raccoons (recorded).
• Based on fossil evidence from France and Germany, the first known members of the family lived in Europe about 25 million years ago.
• They can hear earthworms under the earth.
• When fed with cat food for over a long period of time, raccoons can develop gout.

Beaver (Castor Canadensis)

• They are the second largest rodents in the world.
• Females are as large or larger than males of the same age, which is uncommon in mammals.
• They can live for up to 24 years in the wild.
• The beaver works as a keystone species in an ecosystem by creating wetlands that are used by many other species.
• Next to humans, no other extent animals appear to do more to shape its landscape.
• There are typically two dens within a beaver lodge, one for drying off after exiting the water and another, drier one where the family actually lives.
• Beaver ponds, and the wetlands that succeed them, remove sediments and pollutants from waterways, including total suspended solids, total nitrogen, phosphates, carbon and silicates.
• They mate for life and do everything together from collecting food, building the dam and lodge, to raising their young.

Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)

• Their name comes from Algonquin origin, meaning, "it is red" after its colouring.
• They are about four times the weight of the brown rat even though the muskrat is only slightly longer.
• They can swim under water for 12 to 17 minutes; they can close off their ears to keep the water out.
• They are able to live alongside streams, which contain sulphurous water that drains away from coalmines.
• Some Native Americans think muskrat can predict winter snowfall levels by observing the size and timing of muskrat lodge construction.
• Muskrat fur is sold as Musquash fur to make it sound more appealing to customers.

Wolf (Canis lupus)

• They are the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family. Though once abundant over much of Eurasia, North Africa and North America, the gray wolf inhabits a reduced portion of its former range due to widespread destruction of its territory, human encroachment, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked broad extirpation.
• Gray wolves are typically apex predators throughout their range, with only humans and tigers posing significant threats to them.
• The first true wolves began to appear at the end of the Blancan North American Stage and the onset of the early Irvingtonian.
• The vocalisations of southern wolves have a higher proportion of short, sharp barking, and they seldom howl. It is likely that dogs and dingoes stem from this group.
• Wolves are very strong for their size, possessing sufficient strength to turn over a frozen horse or moose carcass.
• They are also capable of running at speeds of 56-64 km (34-38 miles) per hour and can continue running for more than 20 minutes, though not necessarily at that speed.
• In cold climates, wolves can reduce the flow of blood near their skin to conserve body heat. The warmth of the footpads is regulated independently of the rest of the body, and is maintained at just above tissue-freezing point where the pads come in contact with ice and snow.
• Their hearing is sharp enough to register the fall of leaves in the autumn period.
• Their eyesight is not as powerful as that of dogs, though their night vision is the most advanced of the Canidae.
• Pups have a fast growth rate during their first four months of life: during this period: a pup's weight can increase nearly 30 times.

Sable (Martes Zibellina)

• The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia.
• When courting, sables run, jump and "rumble" like cats. Males dig metre long shallow grooves in the snow, frequently accompanied with urination.
• They have been reported to live for up to eighteen years in the wild.

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