White-Tailed Deer Hairs

Images made through a microscope. All subject types.

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Olympusman
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Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

White-Tailed Deer Hairs

Post by Olympusman »

On New Years Eve my wife struck and killed a four-point buck with her van. Lots of damage to the front end of her van. There were some hairs stuck in the damaged fender and I mounted a few in balsam on a slide.
We live in a mountainous wooded area south of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Game Commission estimates there are about 60 White-Tailed Deer per square mile in our area and the sight of road kills around here is very common.
I found two types of hairs in the sample.
The first is the hairs that give the deer their reddish coat color.

Image

In the winter, the deer go from a reddish color to a gray color.

Image

This hair appears to hollow when I examine the broken ends of the hair. It may be some kind of insulator to trap warm air inside in the cold of winter.
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

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