Mammals Skins Collection

Curator: Igor Fadeev.

The collection comprises 1 230 specimens. Of the greatest interest are the skins of foxes with geographical variations, as well as a large selection of skins of foxes, arctic foxes, sables, minks, martens held in cages and bred in fur farms. Worth to be noted is a good series of skins of large predatory mammals: wolves, tigers, leopards, lynxes, brown bears from various regions of Russia and adjacent territories. There is also a wide range of specimens with variability in color of the fur - moles, squirrels, and chipmunks.

A significant part of the collection was formed with the assistance of the Union Soyuzpushnina, cooperation with which lasted more than fifty years. Unfortunately, most of this material doesn’t have appropriate scientific description, since the skins came as raw materials from hunters and fishermen from all around the Soviet Union. The skins of exotic animals came mainly from the Moscow Zoo.

In recent years, the collection of skins has been replenished by the specimens confiscated from poachers - four skins of tigers, three skins of zebras, and one skin of a snow leopard.

Skins of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes L.). Normal color on the left, in the center and on the right color variations obtained by breeding on fur farms.

Skins of the European mink (Mustela lutreola L.). Color variations obtained by breeding on fur farms.