Fur  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Fur is a synonym for hair, used in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensive body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal pelts which have been processed into leather with the hair still attached. The words fur or furry are also used, more casually, to refer to hair-like growths or formations; particularly when the subject being referred to exhibits a dense coat of fine, soft "hairs."

Animal fur, if layered, rather than grown as a single coat, may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair. Mammals with reduced amounts of fur are often called "naked", as in The Naked Ape, naked mole rat, and naked dogs.

An animal with commercially valuable fur is known within the fur industry as a furbearer. The use of fur as clothing and/or decoration is considered controversial by some people: most animal rights advocates object to the trapping and killing of wildlife, and to the confinement and killing of animals on fur farms.

Fur has been a major challenge for 3D computer graphics artists due to its visual complexity and physical properties. The first movie which made extensive use of CGI fur was Pixar's 2001 film Monsters, Inc..

Namesakes

• Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

See also

• Animal coloration
• Cat coat genetics
• Coat (animal)

Human activities

• Fur farming
• Tanning