Mink Fur
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This list of types of fur describes the characteristics of types of
fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
used in
fur clothing Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...
. Each type of fur serves its own purpose and has its own unique characteristics in garment manufacturing.


Chinchilla

Characterized by their dense, velvety texture, chinchilla fur is one of the most expensive and luxurious of all fur types. Each follicle on a chinchilla's body produces 60 hairs, making the fur the densest of any land-dwelling mammal. The most common coloration for chinchillas is a medium grey body, black dorsal stripe, and white underbelly but other colors such as mosaic (white and grey), and all white are also common. Indigenous to South America,
chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...
fur became first became popular in the 19th century in Western countries where the unregulated hunting of wild chinchillas quickly lead to them becoming an endangered species in their native range. In 1923 chinchillas were brought back to the United States of America to be bred for their fur as the hunting of wild chinchillas became illegal, these were the descendance of all chinchillas used in the fur trade today.


Coyote

The fur of
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
s is dense and durable, available in a wide range of colors and qualities depending on the subspecies of coyote the fur was harvested from. Primarily seen as a pest animal, coyotes are not often utilized for their fur, although they are perfect for practical garments. The long guard hairs, often confused with finnraccoon, are dark and long making them suited for parka ruffs similar to wolf.


Beaver

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
fur has long been used in making muffs, stoles, collars, trimmings, and felt for hats.''American Fox and Fur Farmer'' (1921)
p. 13
The American beaver scores a 90/100 on the Austin Fur Durability chart making it practical for utilitarian items such as linings. In the 21rst century beaver is no longer considered a luxurious fur and is often not seen as very attractive to designers unless it is sheared. Sheared beaver is slightly less durable, with a Austin score of 85/100, but has a velvet-like texture and is very plush. The process of shearing involves shearing the pelt to make it shorter and then plucking all the guard hairs to reveal only the soft underfur beneath, this underwool is what beaver felt is made out of. The under fur of a beaver is incredibly dense to keep the animal warm in freezing waters.


Faux

Faux fur or fake fur is a material made of synthetic fibers designed to resemble fur, normally as part of a piece of clothing.


Fisher

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...
fur varies from grayish brown to nearly black. The fur measures about two and one-half inches in length. It is used mainly for muffs and neck, shoulder pieces. The trapping of fishers is restricted in many States leading to it becoming a more uncommon type of fur in comparison to the mink. Fisher fur is more durable and water resistant than other types of fur such as fox.


Fox


Red fox

Because of their abundance,
red foxes The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, p ...
are among the most important furbearing animals harvested by the
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
. Their pelts are used for trimmings
scarf A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of diff ...
s, muffs,
jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...
s and
coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...
s. They are principally used as trimming for both
cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
coats and fur garments, including evening wraps. The pelts of silver-morph foxes are popular as
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
s, while cross foxes are mostly used for scarfs and very rarely trimming. The number of sold fox scarfs exceeds the total number of scarfs made from other furbearers. However, this amount is overshadowed by the total number of fox pelts used for trimming purposes. The silver morphs are the most valued by furriers, followed by the cross and red morphs respectively. In the early 20th century, over 1,000 American fox skins were imported to Britain annually, while 500,000 were exported annually from Germany and Russia. The total worldwide trade of wild red foxes in 1985–86 was 1,543,995 pelts. Foxes amounted to 45% of US wild-caught pelts worth $50 million. North American red foxes, particularly those of northern Alaska, are the most valued for their fur, as they have guard hairs of a very silky texture that, after dressing, provide less restricted mobility to the wearer. Red foxes in southern Alaska's coastal areas and the Aleutian Islands are an exception, as they have extremely coarse pelts that rarely exceed a third of the price of their northern Alaskan cousins. Most European peltries have very coarse textured fur compared to North American varieties. The only exceptions are the Nordic and Far Eastern Russian peltries, but they are still inferior to North American peltries in terms of silkiness. The greatest source of fox pelts is from fur farms located in Scandinavia, Canada, the United States, Russia, and China. The two most commonly farmed species of fox are the
American red fox The American red fox (''Vulpes vulpes fulva'') is a North American subspecies of the red fox. It is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, occurring in North America. This subspe ...
(Vulpes vulpes fulva) and the
arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...
(Vulpes lagopus). The red fox was initially farmed in 1895 in Prince Edward Island in an attempt to boost the number of silver fox (melanistic fox) pelts which were the most coveted at the time. As well as silver and red foxes, farms were also able to breed other natural morphs such as cross (partially melanistic) and albino fox pelts. As time progressed farmers started to produce foxes of various colors such as marble (white with a different colored stripe down the back), platinum (light silver with white face and neck marking), and amber (a light brown). Farmed red foxes express a wide variety of colors, longer fur, thicker neck ruffs, and are significantly larger than wild foxes.


Arctic Fox (Blue Fox)

The fur of the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is currently the most popular of all the farmed fox species, particularly the blue fox (white with grey tips) and the shadow blue fox (all white). The overwhelming popularity of this fox has to do with the size of the production of arctic fox pelts and the dyeable nature of the color lead it to being a very accessible fur for designers and furriers to work with. Fur farming of blue foxes started as early as the 18th century with Russian fur traders transplanting blue foxes onto islands which previously had no foxes. These transplanted foxes would be caught during pelting season, with the best foxes released back onto the island to breed and the others harvested for their pelts This rudimentary fur farming became increasingly popular and eventually lead to the incredibly large number blue fox pelts seen today. Some unethical fur farmers breed their blue foxes to be too large, overfeeding or inbreeding them into unhealthy sizes to make the pelts larger, Although WelFur program is implementing procedures to stop this practice in the European Union, this practice has yet to be regulated in the United States and China.


Hybrid Fox

Hybrid foxes, made by artificially inseminating a female arctic fox with the zygotes of a male red fox, are larger than either of their parent species and are born infertile. It's unknown if these foxes suffer from any negative health side-affects as they're not kept longer than pelting season. Golden Island Foxes are the offspring of a female white artic fox and a common male red fox, they are the most popular type of hybrid fox. Other popular types of hybrid fox, often called 'frost fox' are blue frost and arctic marble frosts.


Golden jackal

Although no longer popular globally, in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and other nations of the
former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
,
golden jackals The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...
are considered furbearers, albeit ones of low quality due to their sparse, coarse and monotonously colored fur. Asiatic and Near Eastern jackals produce the coarsest pelts, though this can be remedied during the dressing process. As jackal hairs have very little fur fiber, their skins have a flat appearance. The softest furs come from
Elburz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...
in northern Iran. Jackals are known to have been hunted for their fur in the 19th century: in the 1880s, 200 jackals were captured annually in Mervsk. In the Zakatal area of the Trans-Caucasus, 300 jackals were captured in 1896. During that period, a total of 10,000 jackals had been taken within Russia, and were sent exclusively to the Nizhegorod fair. In the early 1930s, 20–25 thousand jackal skins were tanned annually in the Soviet Union, though the stocks were significantly underused, as over triple that amount could have been produced. Before 1949 and the onset of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the majority of jackal skins were exported to the US. Despite their geographical variations, jackal skins are not graded according to a fur standard, and are typically used in the manufacture of cheap collars, women's coats and fur coats. Jackal fur is still valued by the
Kazakh people The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts ...
along the Caspian shoreline, as it is lighter and warmer than
sheepskin Sheepskin is the Hide (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictiona ...
.


Lynx

The third most expensive fur, the
lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...
is a luxurious type of fur renowned for its silky, plush fur and the striking spots on its pelt. The three most common types of lynx in the fur trade are the
Canadian lynx The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears w ...
, the
bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
, and the Russian lynx. Due to CITES regulations, special permits are required to trap, sell, and own lynx furs. The most expensive type of lynx fur is produced with only the white underbellies of the animals creating a pure white coat with dramatic black spots. The underbellies are very small, leading to the coats being difficult to make. The backs of most lynx have little to no spots, instead characterized by their cream and light grey coloration. Often mistaken for fox, lynx fur can be very long and silky, but is less durable then fox. The pelts of bobcats feature shorter fur but often have darker markings.


Marten

Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
s, the American equivalent of the sable, have a fur length of about one and one-half inches long. The color varies from pale grey to orange-brown and dark brown. The American pine marten sports a reddish brown coat and an orange-tinted throat, but their numbers in the wild were depleted until after the turn of the century. Their European cousin the
stone marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...
is a paler beige color with a cream throat. The stone martens that are the most valuable have a bluish cast to the fur with the underfur being lighter, and were popular in the 50's with stone marten stoles, typically made of three to five pelts, being features in shows such as ''I Love Lucy.'' Martens are desirable due to their mid-length fur and the durability of the hair follicles. The pelt of a marten possesses an oily texture similar to mink, but a longer silky hair such as a fox.


Mink

Mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
fur is the most popular fur traded world wide. Its fur is durable, and the hairs are rather short, but very thick and soft. The guard hairs do not break readily, and the underfur does not tend to become matted. Sunlight gradually fades its original dark brown color a warmer tone, making it less attractive with time. Up until the invention of the fur sewing machine, mink fur was actually pretty unpopular. Wild mink are small mammals, males weighing 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz), making them difficult to work into a full garment. Once the fur sewing machine, and fur farming, became popular it was possible to breed farmed minks to be significantly larger and to use a method called "letting out" to make the mink pelt almost twice as long.


Nutria

Nutria, or
coypu The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...
fur is traditionally sheared, dyed and plucked. Its light weight makes it suitable for linings as well as coats, accessories and trims. Sometimes is now used without shearing or plucking, with the most valuable furs being in the richer browns. It is sometimes promoted as a 'guilt-free' fur, as it is considered a pest in the southern United States.


Otter

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
fur is about an inch long, erect, and thick. It is durable, ranking with mink fur, and is used chiefly for trimming garments. Otter fur is typically used in men's fashion as it has a dark brown, rugged look. River otters are currently the most common species currently used in the fur trade after the
sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...
was declared endangered.


Rabbit

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
fur is commonly considered a byproduct of the process of breeding rabbits for meat, and as such is produced in large quantities in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
; more than seventy million
pelt Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...
s a year in France alone. However, the quality of fur from these rabbits tends to be low, as the rabbits are slaughtered before reaching twelve weeks old and still have the infant coat. In temperate climates, the highest-quality furs are obtained in winter from rabbits over five months old, when the thickness of the fur is even; at other times of year, varying degrees of hair shedding causes uneven patches in the fur. The coat is also at its thickest at this time of year. The highest quality pelts are suitable for
clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
, and typically constitute less than half of all pelts collected. The fur of
rex rabbit The term rex rabbit (without capitalization) refers informally to one of at least nine breeds of domestic rabbit (or a specimen thereof or similar thereto). One such breed is the ''Rex,'' which is recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Assoc ...
s are the most sought after rabbit pelts. Rex rabbits have a rare gene that causes them to have no guard hairs, only soft underfur. This makes all the fur on the pelt of equal length and incredibly soft to the touch. While the pelts of regular rabbits are often used in utilitarian garments for warmth, rex rabbits are made into higher grade garments and accessories. Rabbit is the least durable of all furs, scoring 5/100 on the Austin chart of durability. Rabbit is also the cheapest of all fur with standard rabbit jackets worth around $100–160 new ($20–$40 used), and rex rabbit worth $300–400 new ($80 used). If a rabbit fur garment is shedding fur this means that it is dry rotted and can no longer be repaired. The hair of the
Angora rabbit The Angora rabbit ( tr, Ankara tavşanı), which is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, is bred for the long fibers of its coat, known as ''Angora wool'', which are gathered by shearing, combing or plucking. Because rabbits do not possess ...
is preferred to be combed and knitted due to its length, caused by an unusually long growth phase in the hair cycle, the consequence of a recessive gene. Angora rabbit pelts are typically hard to come by.


Raccoon and Finnraccoon


American Raccoon

Raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
fur is mottled gray in color and about two and one-half inches long on animals from northern United States. In the southern United States the fur is shorter. Raccoon fur reached a heyday in the United States during the 1920s, when
raccoon coat A raccoon coat is a full-length fur coat made of raccoon pelts, which became a fashion fad in the United States during the 1920s. Such coats were particularly popular with male college students in the middle and later years of the decade. Pur ...
s became fashionable among college students to stay warm while traveling in automobiles and attending football games.


Finnraccoon (Asiatic Raccoon Dog)

Finnraccoon (also called tanuki, finncoon, fincoon, Finnish raccoon, racoon dog, or just raccoon) is the fur of the Asiatic raccoon dog. While often called "raccoon fur", the raccoon dog, or tanuki, is actually a type of canine and is far more common in the fur trade as compared with North American raccoons. Finnraccoon fur is used for whole garments or hood trims. Finnraccoon is characterized by its caramel-brown fur, grey underfur, and black tipped guard hairs often with the tip of the shaft featuring a speck of white. Although this orangish brown color is the most common, finnraccoon also naturally comes in dark brown, natural white, cream with light brown tips, and even a 'marble' variety. Brightly dyed Finnraccoon is increasingly popular to make parka trims. The furs of a finnraccoon are actually longer than that of red foxes, making them the longest furred animals of the farmed furbearers. Due to the finnraccoons omivourous diet and adaptable nature, they're illegal to import live into the United States so can only be farmed in Asia and Europe. Escaped finnraccoon are a highly invasive species in Europe and have been spotted in urban areas.


Sable

The
sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...
, a species of marten, is primarily found in Russia through the Ural Mountains of Siberia. Their fur is soft and silkier than American martens and is mostly used for jackets, scarfs, and hats and gloves. Crown sable (also known as Russian or Imperial sable) was the finest and most expensive quality of sable. Sables have been a status symbol throughout history, with the Russian nobility coveting their skins. Russia still controls the world's sable supply with auctions for their furs in the region still demanding high prices. Although sables are farmed for their furs breeding them is incredibly difficult, meaning many are still hunted in the wild.


Sheep (Shearling)

The fur of
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
and lamb, often referred to as
shearling Shearling is a skin from a recently shorn sheep or lamb that has been tanned and dressed with the wool left on. It has a suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, p ...
or
sheepskin Sheepskin is the Hide (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictiona ...
, is a by-product of the meat and wool industry and is considered the most common type of fur and one of the most affordable. Not only is shearling incredibly durable, but is also affordable due to the production of sheep for other products. The furs of some types of lamb such as Karakul lamb can be as expensive as exotic furs for their unique patterning and short hair. Persian lamb is also popular, as well as lamb with tight curls. Most lambs made into fur were slaughtered for their meat or due to illness, not to make fur garments. This makes lamb a more ethical choice for people who are opposed to the killing of animals strictly for their fur.


Skunk

Skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...
fur is of medium length, erect, and possesses a sheen. However, protracted use causes it to fade from a glistening black to a dull reddish brown.American Fox and Fur Farmer (August 1921)
p. 12
Before the mid-20th century, skunk fur was also described and marketed as "Alaska sable". Skunk fur farming was documented in the United States and the United Kingdom as skunks are docile and resilient against predators but suffered from a lack of demand due to the unpopular associations between skunk and their spray.


Grey wolf

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
pelts are primarily used for
scarf A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of diff ...
s and the trimmings of women's garments, though they are occasionally used for
jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...
s, short
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
s,
coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...
s,
mukluk Mukluks or kamik ( iu, ᑲᒥᒃ ) (singular: , plural: ) are a soft boot, traditionally made of reindeer ( caribou) skin or sealskin, and worn by Arctic aboriginal people, including the Inuit, Iñupiat, and Yup'ik. Mukluks may be worn ove ...
s and
rug Rug or RUG may refer to: * Rug, or carpet, a textile floor covering * Rug, slang for a toupée * Ghent University (''Rijksunversiteit Gent'', or RUG) * Really Useful Group, or RUG, a company set up by Andrew Lloyd Webber * Rugby railway station, N ...
s. The quality of wolf peltries rests on the density and strength of the fur fiber, which keeps the fur upright and gives the pelt an appealing bushy aspect. These characteristics are mostly found in northern wolf populations, but gradually lessen further south in warmer climates. North American wolf pelts are among the most valuable, as they are silkier and fluffier than Eurasian peltries. The pelts of wolves killed by poison are mostly worthless. In
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Europe, pelts were considered the only practical aspect of wolves, though they were seldom used, due to the skin's foul odour. In
Scandinavian folklore Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. ...
, wolf-skin
girdle A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...
s assisted in transforming the wearers into werewolves. Several Native American tribes used wolf pelts for medicinal purposes, though some
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
tribes favour dog skin over wolf skin, as the latter is thinner, and more prone to tearing when sewn. The
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...
wore wolf skins as capes when exploring enemy territories. The
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
used wolf skin for
parka A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ...
s during the later stages of WWII and the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
to protect the faces of soldiers from
frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...
. In the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, between 1976 and 1988, 30,000 wolf pelts were produced annually. Recent statistics from
CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
indicate that 6,000–7,000 wolf skins are internationally traded each year, with
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
being the largest exporters, and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
being the largest importers. Overall, the harvesting of wolves for their fur has little impact on their population, as only the northern varieties (whose numbers are stable) are of commercial value. Wolf trapping for fur remains a lucrative source of income for many Native Americans.


Australian brushtail possum

The skin of the
Common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Austr ...
were used as cloaks by
Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
in south-eastern Australia prior to European colonization. The Australian brushtail possum (''paihamu'' in Maori) was introduced to New Zealand in 1837, where unlike Australia, there are no natural predators. This has resulted in an enormous wild population, approximately 70 million, that has a catastrophic effect on natural vegetation. Not to be confused with the North American opossum, a different animal, the ''paihamu'' eat their way through an estimated 20,000 tonnes of greenery each night. They are legally considered a pest. Since the mid-1990s, New Zealand manufacturers have been developing techniques to spin the hollow possum fur fibres with other yarns, such as merino wool and silk, creating a unique fabric of incomparable quality, warmth and durability. Amongst the top three warmest furs in the world, along with the Polar bear and Arctic fox, possum fur has become a viable eco-fur.


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