There is a squashed squirrel on the road to work and has been there for 2 weeks. The squirrel is right in the line where the traffic and is on a fairly busy main road. Here is my question - why does the hair slip off the back end of a fox I did recently (which was also road kill) yet this squirrel still has a full body of hair? I must admit that I have not picked it up to see if the hair will come out.
I suppose that the amount of salt put on the road in winter might act as a preservative, possibly !
Your thoughts would be appreciated
Kindest regards
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I have mounted a few road kills in the past and noticed that around the wound or impact areas the hair will fall out when tanned or handled during mounting. I think the trauma to the area causes the hair to let go. Also some customers that bring in this stuff tell you it was fresh BUT they actually do not know when it was killed so it could have layed too long in the sun. Fox are also fragile animals that can easily slip when mishandled.
These critters like to roll and lie on dead smelly things, and even dung piles. Therefore, they have bacteria all over them to start with. That is why they slip easy. This is what I have heard.
I would add that your thin skinned carnivores also have a digestive system that works different then your herbivores, in that the enzymes and bacterias that help break down the stomach contents are geared towards breaking down meat and flesh verses bacterias that break down vegetative matter. Now spill this mess out of an open wound or even an internal wound and you have a recipe for slippage