Mirror (fur drawing)

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Mirror with a group of fallow deer

In ungulates, the mirror is a white or light spot either around the anus or a lighter mark on the back of the thigh. In the German hunting language, the mirror for roe deer and fallow deer is also called a disk. In some types of hair, it is framed by mostly blackish hair and thus clearly set off from the rest of the back.

The mirror has a signaling effect, especially in intra-species communication. With fleeing deer , it serves to hold the pack together. The signaling effect of the so-called field turning, an ecotype of the deer, whose behavior has adapted to a life in the open, largely uncovered agricultural steppe, has also been well studied. The members of a so-called jump always take opposing positions when resting, which guarantee a panoramic view. If a deer is disturbed, it stands up and spreads the long white hair of the mirror outwards, so that the size of the mirror is more than double. Deer in the vicinity become aware of the disturbance and also begin to secure. The escape of a single deer triggers the escape of the entire jump and can even be carried over to neighboring jumps.

Horse mirror

Above the hind leg the rose mirror

The characteristic feature of the equidae is the so-called “horse mirror” at the height of the hip hump above the hind legs. It plays an essential role in the production of leather and the processing of foal skins . In this part of the body, the hairline changes, this apparently serves to improve the drainage of water in animals living in an unprotected environment. The mirror has the smallest dimension in the newborn foal, in comparison to that in another odd ungulate, the zebra, it is much larger.

On the flesh side of the freshly peeled hide of an equine, the leather side also stands out considerably from the rest of the skin due to its darker color. On the freshly peeled skin of large adult horses, the mirror is firmer and up to two and a half millimeters thicker than the rest of the skin. The color difference disappears when the leather is tanned , the leather is then smoother and shinier, which is said to have led to the name “mirror”.

literature

  • Walter Frevert: Hunting customs and hunting language . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-440-12791-9 .
  • Wolfram Osgyan: Roe Deer Report - The practical book for roe deer hunters. edition nimrod, Melsungen 2007, ISBN 978-3-7888-1111-2 .
  • Christoph Stubbe: Roe deer: biology, ecology, care and hunting. 5th, revised edition. Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-440-11211-3 .

Single receipts

  1. Osgyan, p. 163.
  2. Stubbe, p. 161.
  3. Christian Franke / Johanna Kroll: Jury Fränkel ’s Rauchwaren-Handbuch 1988/89 . 10th revised and supplemented new edition. Rifra-Verlag, Murrhardt 1988, p. 305 .
  4. Erna Mohr: Of horsehides and zebra skins . In: Das Pelzgewerbe No. 4, 1964, Hermelin-Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, Berlin et al., Pp. 161-162.