Evaluation of Microscopic and Macroscopic Methods to Identify Felid Hair

Author(s): Robert L. Harrison

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Summer, 2002), pp. 412-419
Published by: Allen Press
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 412 FELIDHAIR IDENTIFICATION

Evaluation
microscopic and of
macroscopicmethods to identify felid hair

Robert L. Harrison
Abstract Hair collected in field surveys is usually identifiedto species with macroscopic and
microscopic characteristics using published guides and reference collections. However,
there has been no assessment of the reliability of these characteristics to discriminate
between felid and nonfelid hairs. Using museum and private specimens of New Mexico
species, I examined hair medullary, scale, and color patterns. I also examined maximum
overall hair lengths and tested existing keys. I assigned as felid or eliminated as nonfelid
the highest percentage of all sample hairs examined using medullary patterns (78.6%),
followed by scale patterns (36.5%) and color patterns (16.7%). Medullary vacuoles,
which are considered to be diagnostic of felid hair, were found in only 68.5% of bobcat
(Lynxrufus) hairs and only 78.6% of cougar (Puma concolor) hairs. Moreover, vacuoles
also were found in coyote (Canis latrans), swift fox (Vulpes velox), raccoon (Procyon
lotor), and coati (Nasua narica) hair. Presence of large cells within medullas may be used
to identify potential felid hair, although they do occur in many other species. I found 2
scale patterns, 13 color patterns, and maximum overall hair length to be useful to sepa-
rate felid from nonfelid hair. Color patterns and maximum hair length may be used to
discriminate between bobcats and cougars for some hairs. I tested 4 keys using known
bobcat and cougar hairs, representing 8 unique bobcat color patterns and 11 unique
cougar patterns. One key correctly identified the hair as felid, but identification was
based on presence or absence of vacuoles, which can be misleading. Remaining keys
used color patterns and identified only one hair correctly. Failure of existing keys and
large variation and overlap of hair characteristics strongly suggest that studies using
microscopic and macroscopic characteristics for hair identification use controls to quan-
tify reliability of their methods.

Key words bobcat, cougar, felid, hair, Lynxrufus, Puma concolor

Recent advances in hair-collecting devices have
made collection of hair a viable field survey method
(Woods et al. 1999, McDaniel et al. 2000). These
advances are especially valuable for felids, as earlier
survey methods, such as scent stations, have been
very inefficient (e.g., Conner et al. 1983, Diefenbach
et al. 1994). Hair is usually identified to species
with macroscopic and microscopic characteristics
following published guides (Mayer 1952, Stains
1958, Moore et al. 1974,Wallis 1993) and using ref-
erence collections, although genetic analysis is
becoming more common (Foran et al. 1997, Mowat
and Strobeck 2000). There has been no assessment
of the reliability of characteristics and techniques
that have been used in keys and guides to discrimi-
nate between felid and nonfelid hairs. Using muse-
um and private specimens, I examined hair
medullary, scale, and color patterns. I also exam-
ined maximum overall hair lengths and tested exist-
ing keys. Hair samples were examined from all
species occurring in New Mexico that might be
confused with felid hair and might conceivably
leave hair on snares as developed by McDaniel et al.
(2000). The emphasis of this research was on

Author's address: Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1091, USA; e-mail:
rharison@unm.edu.

Wildlife Society Bulletin 2002, 30(2):412-419 Peer refereed


examining known methods of species identifica-
tion, and not on producing a key for New Mexico
mammals. I used the suite of mammals occurring
in New Mexico as an example of the diversity of
species that might occur in a given study area or
management unit. My results provide an example
of the reliability of the methods I tested.
Methods
I obtained hair samples from museum and pri-
vate collections. I examined hair of bobcat (Lynx
rufus), cougar (Puma concolor), coyote (Canis
latrans), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), kit
fox (Vulpes macrotis), red fox ( vulpes), swift fox
(V velox), coati (Nasua narica), raccoon (Procyon
lotor), ringtail (Bassariscus astutus), black bear
(Ursus americana), brown bear (U arctos), opos-
sum (Didelphis virginiana), and domestic cow
(Bos taurus). All museum specimens originated in
New Mexico. The origins of private specimens
were unknown, but most likely also were from New
Mexico. I included brown bear specimens, which
were not from New Mexico, under the assumption
that their microscopic hair characteristics would
be similar to those of black bears (Moore et al.
1974). I did not use all specimens in every test. I
collected representative hairs from dorsal and lat-
eral portions of the body. All samples used in the
analysis were obtained by cutting hairs as close to
the skin as possible. Collecting hair using a quick,
hard pull (Mayer 1952) often resulted in breaking
the hair above the base, excluding useful features
found only in the base. I examined guard hairs and
hairs that were intermediate between guard and
underfur hairs, but not underfur hair.
I prepared hair for observation of medullas (the
central structure of hair) by first cutting off a small
portion of the tip and base and cutting the hair
approximately in half near the juncture of the base
and tip. I then soaked the hair in a clearing agent,
Hemo-de? (Fisher Scientific Company, Pittsburgh,
Pa.) for at least 24 hours, to reveal internal structure
of the medulla. Cutting the hair improves infiltra-
tion of the medulla by the clearing agent. I reject-
ed other clearing agents as too toxic (carbon tetra-
chloride, Mayer 1952; xylene, Moore et al. 1974;
lacto-phenol) or ineffective (alcohol, Day 1966; bal-
sam, Mayer 1952; acetone). After clearing, I mount-
ed hair on a numbered microscope slide using
Permount? mounting medium (Fisher Scientific
Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.) and examined medullas Figure2. Largecells in the medullaof a felid hair.
Felid hair identification * Harrison 413
.? it:
?:
.??: " r?i
-i.?
?;.:?.? 5f..
r:
: t;" ???
?-??:
?; ?.P":?:
??Bi
;:?
tlr-'
"- ?ut;i.
Figure1. Vacuolesin the medullaof a felid hair.
at 100X or 400X magnification. I accepted a slide if
>lmm of the medulla in the base of the hair was
cleared. Approximately 60% of hairs were ade-
quately cleared to permit inspection of medullary
internal structure using this technique. There was
no obvious correlation between degree of clearing
and species or age of specimen, except that very
fine hairs, particularly those of ringtails, often were
inadequately cleared and rejected. I prepared a
maximum of 10 slides from each specimen,
although I accepted less than 10 slides for some
individuals.
The medullary characteristics I observed were
presence of vacuoles, density of large cells, medulla
width relative to hair width, presence of cortical
intrusions, fragmentation, and percentage of hair
length infiltrated. Vacuoles (Figure 1) appeared as
nearly circular cells that appeared to be clear
inside. Vacuoles occur most obviously near the
junction of the basal medulla with the upper shaft
medulla. Small vacuoles may be confused with
other cells, so I used only those vacuoles which
were large enough to extend completely across the
medulla. I defined large cells (Figure 2) as noncir-
cular cells large enough to extend completely
across the medulla. Preliminary observation of
medullary characteristics revealed that some felid
hair had vacuoles or large cells in the base of the
hair, but that these features also were present in
some hairs from other species.
The medulla widths of raccoons, bears, coatis,
and cows are usually less than one-half the width of
the entire hair (Moore et al. 1974). I designated
such medullas as narrow. Felid hairs that are very
fine also may have narrow medullas. However,
the narrow portion of felid medullas does not
extend throughout most of the base of the hair,as
it does in other species. The cortex of a hair is the
portion between the medulla and the outer surface.
.d. XAIJ
 414 Willlife Society Bulletin 2002, 30(2):412-419
Cortical intrusions are projections or islands of cor-
tical material appearing in the medulla, and often
appear in opossum hair (Moore et al. 1974). Frag-
mental medullas are those interrupted by cortical
material, and often appear in raccoon and cow hair
(Moore et al. 1974).
To test the use of medullary characteristics to
identify felid hair, I covered slide identification
numbers with random numbers and then arranged
the slides according to the random numbers. Based
on preliminary observations, I assigned slides as
definite felid, potential felid, or nonfelid as follows:
Hairs containing at least 4 visible vacuoles with
medullas extending more than halfway across the
width of the hair for more than 50% of the total
length of the hair were identified as definite felid. I
also assigned a slide as definite felid if >2 obvious
vacuoles were found in the amorphous portion of
the medulla. I assigned hairs containing >3 large
cells with medullas extending more than halfway
across the width of the hair for more than 50% of
the total length of the hair as potential felid, indi-
cating that they could not be assigned definitely as
either felid or nonfelid. Nonfelid hairs contained a
medulla extending less than half the width of the
hair for more than 50% of the total length of the
hair, a fragmental medulla, cortical intrusions, or <3
large cells.
I obtained impressions of scale patterns on the
external surface of hairs by spreading a layer of
hardware-store PVC glue (Wallis 1993) on a micro-
scope slide, allowing it to dry for approximately 30
minutes, placing a hair on the glue, covering the
slide with another slide, applying pressure with a
small desktop vice, and removing the covering slide
and the hair. Nail polish (Hilton and Kutscha 1978)
did not work well. Hairs can be repressed if initial
patterns are not clear. Patterns were observed at
100X or 400X. I made scale impressions of 10 hairs
from each specimen.
I found no scale patterns in preliminary observa-
tions that could be used to identify felid hairs, but I
did find 2 patterns that could be used to assign
hairs as nonfelid. Using the first pattern, I assigned
hairs as nonfelid if the base of the hair contained at
least 1 mm of diamond petal scale pattern (Moore
et al. 1974) in which at least 90% of the angles
between the sides of the scale margin crests (scale
tips distal to the hair base) were less than 45? (Fig-
ure 3; see also Figure 51C, Moore et al. 1974). I
assessed this feature qualitatively and will refer to it
as the highly acute scale crest pattern (HASC). This
Figure3. Highlyacute scale crest(HASC)scale pattern,which
was a diamondpetalpatternin which at least90%of the angles
betweenthe sides of the scale margincrests(scaletips distalto
the hair base) were less than 45?.
pattern was most clearly developed in ringtails and
gray foxes. I compared the length and position on
hairs of the HASC pattern between those species in
which it was found to determine whether it could
be used to differentiate between species, but found
no clear criteria. The second pattern consisted of
scale margins that were crenate (having a saw-
toothed edge with shallow indentations, Moore et
al. 1974) and close (having a relatively small dis-
tance between consecutive scales, Moore et al.
1974) throughout the midshaft and base of the hair.
It was most obvious in coatis, and I will refer to it
as the completely crenate and close (CCC) pattern.
I tested the utility of scale patterns in the same
manner as medullary patterns. I identified hairs as
nonfelid if they contained one of the patterns
above, or as potential felid if they did not contain
either pattern. Bear and cow specimens became
available after scale tests were performed, and scale
patterns in these species were not tested.
The number of hairs available from a hair-snare
sample may be very small. To determine whether
hairs can be used for both scale impressions and
medullary observations, I made scale impressions
for 10 bobcat and 10 cougar hairs, and then cleared
and mounted the same hairs and examined their
medullas. I qualitatively compared the observabili-
ty of medullary characteristics between hairs that
had been pressed and hairs that had not been
pressed.
Cross-sectional shape has been reported to be
useful for identifying bobcat hair (Hilton and
Kutscha 1978) and snow leopard hair (Uncia
uncia, Oli 1993). However, no simple, reliable
method of obtaining cross-sectional shape was
found. The method of Mathiak (1938), used by
Hilton and Kutscha (1978), uses nail polish on balsa
wood and did not work well. Epoxy and
polyurethane finishes also did not work. To observe
the true cross-sectional shape, the hair must be
secured strongly enough to not be deformed under
the force of the cutting blade. Such arrangements
 Felidhairidentification* Harrison 415

require microtomes or other sophisticated cutting rectly identify the hairs as bobcat or cougar. I
tools. In addition, Moore et al. (1974) described the selected test hairs representing the complete set of
cross-sections of all the species examined here as color patterns found in bobcats and cougars.
round to oval for the entire shaft length. There was To test the utility of hair length for discriminating
no indication that cross-sectional shape would be a between felids and nonfelids, I measured maximum
useful hair characteristic for New Mexico mammals. hair lengths on the dorsal and lateral surfaces of
To observe hair color patterns, I collected exam- specimens. I often found longer hairs on the ventral
ples of all the unique color patterns found on avail- surfaces, but I did not measure these hairs as it
able specimens. I examined colors on a light blue would be unlikely for an animal to rub its ventral sur-
background (Stains 1958) and defined colors as face on a hair snare. I measured maximum lengths
white, black, or tan (light brown). Black and dark rather than average lengths because average lengths
brown were not separated. In preliminary observa- do not provide conclusive diagnostic criteria. Spec-
tion, I found that lengths of color bands were imens of all species except coati were collected pri-
extremely variable between different sections of marily in winter, the season of maximum hair length.
the body and there was much overlap between The coati specimen was collected in October.
species. Thus I did not consider lengths of color
bands to be useful indicators. I recorded only the
sequence of colors from base to tip.
Results
To test the reliability of color sequences for dis- Using medullary characteristics, no nonfelid hair
criminating between felids and nonfelids, I collect- was assigned as definite felid, but nonfelid hairs
ed additional hair from the head, neck, and flank were assigned as potential felid (n =535 hairs exam-
regions of available specimens. The sample was ined, Table 1.). Two cougar hairs, both from the
intended to represent the most common hair pat- same individual, were identified incorrectly as non-
terns and thus those most
likely to be left on hair Table 1. Test of hair
medullary characteristics to identify New Mexico species. Hairs were col-
snares, but not necessarily lected from museum and private specimens and assigned as definite felid, potential felid, and
to include every hair type nonfelid. Potential felid hairs could not be identified as either felid or nonfelid. Average infil-
on I tration is the average percentage of medullas cleared.
present specimens.
taped hairs individually to
Percent assigned (%)
blue index cards, covered
the card identification Actual No. No. hairs Average Definite Potential
Species specimens examined infiltration felida felidb Nonfelidc
numbers with random
Bobcat 10 92 50.5 52.2 47.8 0.0
numbers, arranged the
Cougar 3 28 70.3 46.4 46.4 7.1
cards according to the
Coyote 8 68 42.5 0 22.1 77.9
random numbers, and
Gray fox 10 68 23.5 0 1.5 98.5
examined the hairs under 6 52.4 0 15.4 84.6
Kitfox 39
2-11X, using a dissecting Red fox 3 26 28.3 0 30.8 69.2
microscope. I assigned Swift fox 5 42 22.7 0 42.9 57.1
species according to color Coati 1 10 23.5 0 10.0 90.0
pattern as bobcat, cougar, Raccoon 9 66 42.3 0 1.5 98.5
felid (either bobcat or Ringtail 4 21 21.9 0 0 100.0
cougar), potential bobcat, Black bear 1 10 58.0 0 0 100.0
Brown bear 2 20 27.5 0 0 100.0
potential cougar, potential
Cow 1 5 0 0 100.0
felid, or nonfelid, based
Opossum 4 40 60.0 0 0 100.0
upon the complete set of
color patterns collected a Definite felid hairs contained >4 vacuoles (or >2 within the
amorphous portion of the
above. medulla) and a medulla that extended more than halfway across the width of the hair for more
I examined 4 published than 50% of the total length of the hair.
b Potential felid hairs contained >3
keys (Mayer 1952, Stains large cells or <4 vacuoles and a medulla that extended
more than halfway across the width of the hair for more than 50% of the total length of the hair.
1958, Moore et al. 1974, c Nonfelid hairs contained <3
Wallis 1993) to determine large cells, a medulla that extended less than halfway across
the width of the hair for more than 50% of the total length of the hair, cortical intrusions, or a
whether they would cor- fragmental medulla.
 416 Wildlife Society Bulletin 2002, 30(2):412-419

felid. All other felid hairs were identified as definite The key developed by Stains (1958) correctly
or potential felid. Vacuoles were found in 68.5% of identified only one of 8 unique bobcat hairs. The
bobcat hairs and 78.6% of cougar hairs. Vacuoles hair, which was all white, keyed correctly to bobcat
also were found in 16.2% of coyote hairs, 11.9% of based upon the length of the particular hair exam-
swift fox hairs, 12.1% of raccoon hairs, and 20% of ined and the assumption that skunks (Mephitis
coati hairs. All of the vacuoles found within raccoon mephitis) are unlikely to climb trees high enough
and coati hairs occurred within narrow medullas. to leave hair on snares placed for bobcats and
Approximately 55% of coyote hairs containing vac- cougars. The key byWallis (1993) did not correctly
uoles also had narrow medullas. The average densi- identify any bobcat hairs. Stains (1958) and Wallis
ty of large cells and vacuoles combined per hair var- (1993) did not include cougars in their keys. The
ied from <l/mm to 37.3/mm in felids, and from key by Mayer (1952) correctly identified all bobcat
<l/mm to 21.3/mm in nonfelids. There was no sep- and cougar hairs as felids, except for the all-white
aration between the ranges of densities found in pattern, assuming that the felid medullas were
felids and nonfelids. I found cortical intrusions only "highly vacuolated" (Mayer 1952), which is not
in opossums, and fragmental medullas only in rac- always correct. He separated bobcats from cougars
coons and cows. on the basis of hair length and width only, which
Using presence-absence of the HASC and CCC may lead to errors when only a few hairs are avail-
scale patterns, I identified hairs as nonfelid from able. Moore et al. (1974) did not correctly identify
every nonfelid species except opossums (n=650 any bobcat or cougar hair. One bobcat hair (white,
hairs examined,Table 2). No felid hairs were iden- tan, black) did lead to felids, but the key decisions
tified incorrectly as nonfelid. were not clear and no confidence could be placed
Use of 20 bobcat and cougar hairs to create scale upon the result.
impressions did not noticeably affect infiltration for
medullary observations. As much or more
medullary structure was as visible as with clearing Discussion
alone. However, some hairs were damaged by the Medullary, scale, and color patterns, and maxi-
pressure, and in general practice, I advise against mum length, all provided information useful to sep-
using the same hairs for scale impressions and arate felid and nonfelid hair. A hair collected on a
medullary observations without a thorough study hair snare in New Mexico may be assigned defi-
of the consequences. nitely as felid if it contains a tan-white-tan-black,
I found 22 different hair color patterns, including white-tan-black, or a white-tan-white-black color
8 in bobcats and 11 in cougars (Table 3). Only 3
patterns were unique to bobcats and cougars. The Table 2. Test of hair scale characteristics for identification of
remaining felid patterns also occurred in other fam- New Mexico species. Hairs were collected from museum and
ilies. Thirteen patterns were found which were not private specimens and assigned as nonfelid using scale charac-
teristics. Hairs not assigned as nonfelid were considered poten-
shared by felids and other species, and thus are use- tial felid. Criteria for assignment were as follows: HASC =
ful for discriminating between felids and nonfelids. highly-acute scale crest pattern, and CCC = completely crenate
and close pattern.
In the test of hair color patterns, bobcat and cougar
hair could not be separated, but 6.2% of sample Percent assigned
hairs were assigned as felid (either bobcat or No. No. hairs nonfelid (o)
cougar), and 10.5% were eliminated as nonfelid Species specimens examined HASC CCC
(Table 4). Bobcat 10 100 0 0
Coyote, bear, and red fox specimens were found Cougar 2 20 0 0
to have some hairs longer than the maximum Coyote 8 80 25.0 0
length found in bobcats and cougars (Table 5). The Gray fox 10 100 86.0 0
maximum length of bobcat hair was longer than Kit fox 8 80 35.0 1.3
that of cougars. Based upon the sample of hairs col- Red fox 3 30 26.7 3.3
lected for the color pattern test, comparison of Swift fox 3 30 3.3 0
Coati 1 10 0 80.0
lengths of bobcat and cougar hairs for hair color
Raccoon 10 100 0 26.0
patterns that occur in both species indicated that 6 60
Ringtail 96.7 0
the 2 species may be separated by length and color
Opossum 4 40 0 0
pattern combined for 3 patterns (Table 6).
 Felidhairidentification* Harrison 417

pattern from base to tip, or if Table 3. Hair color patterns found in museum and private specimens of New Mexico
its medulla contains >4 vac- species. Hair colors extend from base to tip of hair. Colors were black or dark brown (b),
tan or light brown (t), and white (w). Species were bobcat (bc), cougar (cou), coyote (coy),
uoles (or >2 vacuoles in the gray fox (gf), kit fox (kf), red fox (rf),swift fox (sf), coati (coa), raccoon (ra), ringtail (ri), and
amorphous portion of the opossum (o). An "x" indicates that the pattern was found in at least 1 specimen.
medulla) and if the medulla
extends more than halfway Species (No. specimens)
across the width of the hair bc cou coy gf kf rf sf coa ra ri op
Color pattern (10) (2) (8) (9) (6) (3) (3) (1) (9) (5) (4)
for more than 50% of the
total length of the hair. It may b x x x x x x
be assigned as nonfelid if it bt x
contains any of the 10 color btb x x x x x
bw x
patterns that do not occur in bwb x x x x x x x
bobcats or cougars (Table 3),
bwbwb x
if its length is greater than bwt x
approximately 70 mm, if its bwtb x x x x
medulla extends less than tb x x
one-half the width of the hair twt x
for more than 50% of the twtba x
total length of the hair,or if it w x x x x x x x x
contains the HASC or CCC wbx x x x x x x x
scale patterns. If hairs are wbtb x x x x x x x
found on a hair snare that do w btw x
wbw x x x x x
not meet these criteria, they
wbwb x x x x x x x
must be designated as poten-
wbwbtb x
tial felid-that is, they can not w bwt x
be identified as felid, but can wbwtb x
not be eliminated as nonfelid wtbb x x
either. The number of visits wtwba x
by felids to hair snares must
then be stated as a range a
Unique to bobcats or cougars.
between a minimum, which b
Unique to bobcats and cougars.
does not include potential
felid hairs, and a maximum, which does include
Table 4. Test of hair color patterns to identify New Mexico
potential felid hairs. species. Hairs were collected from museum and private spec-
I assigned as felid or eliminated as nonfelid the imens and assigned as felid (bobcat or cougar), potential
highest percentage of all sample hairs examined cougar, nonfelid, or potential felid, using patterns listed in Table
3. No hairs found in the sample tested could be assigned as
using medullary patterns (78.6%), followed by scale bobcat, cougar, or potential bobcat.
patterns (36.5%) and color patterns (16.7%). Per-
centage eliminated as nonfelid by total length was Assigned species (%)
not examined, but 3 of 14 species examined had No. hairs Potential Potential
maximum hair lengths greater than bobcats or Species examined Felid cougar Nonfelid felid
cougars. Investigators in other areas working with Bobcat 20 10.0 90.0
a different suite of species may find the reliability of Cougar 30 36.7 23.3 40.0
these methods to be quite different. Coyote 20 55.0 10.0 35.0
Separation of bobcat from cougar hair can be Gray fox 20 40.0 25.0 35.0
based upon color patterns for 5 color patterns that Kitfox 10 70.0 10.0 20.0
Red fox 20 40.0 55.0 5.0
occur in one species and not the other (Table 3)
Swift fox 20 80.0 15.0 5.0
and upon combined length and color patterns for 3
Coati 10 100.0
additional color patterns (Table 6). Hairs of the
Raccoon 20 75.0 25.0
remaining 4 patterns found in bobcats and cougars Ringtail 20 100.0
can not be separated by species using the methods 20 100.0
Opossum
here. Bobcat hair can not be separated from cougar
 418 Wildlife Society Bulletin 2002, 30(2):412-419

Table 5. Maximum lengths (mm) of hairs from museum and Color patterns will become more useful if future
private specimens of New Mexico species. For comparison, research indicates that some species included here
maximum lengths reported by Moore et al. (1974) for Wyoming
are included. New Mexico specimens were collected primari- do not leave hair on snares. They also will be more
ly in winter. Wyoming specimens were collected primarily in useful if some species do not occur in the surveyed
summer and fall. area. For example, where coatis do not occur, the
tan-black pattern becomes diagnostic for cougars.
Maximum
It is essential that prior to any hair identification
No. Maximum length
Species specimens length Moore et al. (1974) projects, a complete reference collection be assem-
Bobcat 10 66 45 bled, including not only pelts but also slides of
Cougar 2 29 38 medullary and scale patterns. Reliance on existing
Coyote 9 100 80 guides is likely to be inadequate. For example, the
Gray fox 9 51 keys provided by Mayer (1952), Stains (1958), and
Kitfox 7 46 Moore et al. (1974) examined only mid-dorsal and
Red fox 3 73 56 mid-ventral hair and thus did not intend to cover all
Swift fox 2 31 hair color patterns that might be left upon a hair
Coati 1 32 snare. Geographic variation also may be a factor.
Raccoon 9 67 74
The failure of existing guides to correctly and
Ringtail 7 29 30
Black bear 1 125 108
unambiguously identify felid hair suggests that the
2 190 70 rigor of hair identification should be improved.
Grizzly bear
Cow 0 140 Diet studies that use hair from stomachs and feces
4 55 84 should use controls to quantify the reliability of
Opossum
iil
their methods. For example, they should test their
methods on known specimens or use multiple,
independent observers before analyzing unknown
hair on the basis of medullary or scale patterns. specimens. Observer variation in fecal analysis
Presence or absence of vacuoles is not entirely found by Spaudling et al. (2000) may be due partly
diagnostic for felid hair, as vacuoles do occur in to lack of control procedures.
nonfelid hairs. Similarly,large cells occur in both The results here may be used to screen a collec-
felid and nonfelid hairs. Also, felid hairs are not usu- tion of hair prior to genetic analysis. Preparation of
ally completely infiltrated, and thus the infiltrated medullary and scale pattern slides as described
portion may not show vacuoles even if they are here would cost <$5 per slide to achieve a collec-
present. More effective methods of infiltration are tion of 100 slides of each type, including labor but
needed. not including the cost of microscopes. An individ-
ual slide may contain several sample hairs. Genetic
Table 6. Comparisonof total lengths (mm) of hairs of New Mexi- analysis costs approximately $12 per sample for a
co bobcats and cougars for hairs with color patterns which collection of 100 samples (D. Paetkau, Wildlife
occurred in both species. Color patternsextend from base to tip Genetics, personal communication).
of hair. Black and dark brown were not separated. No all-white
or all-black hairs were found in the sample collected for this test.
Acknowledgments. I thank the Museum of
Bobcat Southwestern Biology at the University of New
Cougar
Mexico for allowing hair sampling from its collec-
Range of Range of
Color Pattern Lengths na Lengths na tion. B. Dennis provided drawings of hair structure.
White, black-brown 34 1 12-17b 5
White, black-brown, tan,
black-brown 10-33 6 18 1 Literaturecited
White, black-brown, white 45-46 2 13-17b 2 CONNER, M. C., R. F LABISKY,AND D. R. PROGULSKE,JR. 1983. Scent-
station indices as measures of population abundance for bob-
White, black-brown, white,
black-brown 15-28 9 10-23 3 cats, raccoons, gray foxes, and opossums. Wildlife Society
Bulletin 11: 146-152.
White, tan, black-brown 42-44 2 10-22b 12 DAY,M. G. 1966. Identification of hair and feather remains in the
gut and faeces of stoats and weasels. Journal of Zoology 148:
a n = number of hairs found from a
sample of 20 bobcat and 201-217.
30 cougar hairs collected from museum and private specimens. DIEFENBACH,D. R., M. J. CONROY,
R. J. WARREN, W E. JAMES, L. A.
b Bobcat and cougar lengths do not overlap. BAKER, AND T. HON. 1994. A test of the scent-station survey
 Felid hair identification * Harrison 419

technique for bobcats. Journal of Wildlife Management 58:

10-17.
FOlRAN, S. C., S. C. MINTA,AN) K. S. HEINEMEYER. 1997. DNA-based
analysis of hair to identify species and individuals for popu-
lation research and monitoring. Wildlife Society Bulletin 25:
840-847.
HII:l)N,H., AN) N. P. Ku!TS(HA. 1978. Distinguishing characteris-
tics of the hairs of eastern coyote, domestic dog, red fox and
bobcat in Maine. American MidlandNaturalist 100: 223-227.
MAIHIAK, H. A. 1938. A rapid method of cross-sectioning mam-
malian hairs. Journal of Wildlife Management 2:162-164.
MAYER, W V. 1952. The hair of Californiamammals with keys to
the dorsal guard hairs of Californiamammals. American Mid-
land Naturalist 48:480-512.
M(:)ANIEIT, G. W., K. S. M(:KEIVEY, J. R. SQl IRES,ANI)L. F Ru(GG;IERO.
2000. Efficacy of lures and hair snares to detect lynx.
Robert L. Harrison is research assistant professor of biology at
Wildlife Society Bulletin 28:119-123. the University of New Mexico. He received B.S. degrees in
MOOR(), T I)., L. E. SPEN(I:,
ANI)C. E. DtI(NOI.I.E. 1974. Identifica- physics and earth and planetary sciences from the Massachu-
tion of the dorsal guard hairs of some mammals of Wyoming. setts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in physics from the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Cheyenne, USA. University of New Mexico. He worked as a field technician for
MowA,I G., ANI)C. STR()OBI(K. 2000. Estimatingpopulation size of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game before receiving his
grizzly bears using hair capture, DNA profiling, and mark- Ph.D. in biology from the University of New Mexico. He has
studied gray fox ecology and scent-station methodology for
recapture analysis. Journal of Wildlife Management 64:
183-193. Neotropical cats. His current research interests include survey
methods for swift foxes and bobcats.
Oi.i, M. K. 1993. A key for the identification of the hair of mam-
mals of a snow leopard (Panthera uncic) habitat in Nepal.
Journal of Zoology, London 231:71-93.
SPAT
.I)ING,R., P R. KtIAcSMAN,
AN) W. B. BALI.ARD.2000. Observ-
er bias and analysis of gray wolf diets from scats. Wildlife
Society Bulletin 28:947-950.
H. J. 1958. Field key to guard hair of middle western
STAINS,
furbearers. Journal of Wildlife Management 22:95-97.
R. L. 1993. A key for the identification of guard hairs of
WAII.IS,
some Ontario mammals. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71:
587-591.
WooI)S, J. (., D. PAITIKAU,
D. LEWIS,B. N. M(cLEI.IAN, M. PROC(IR,
ANI)C. STIRO(BECK. 1999. Genetic tagging of free-ranging black
and brown bears. Wildlife Society Bulletin 27:616-627. Associate editor: Conner