Look what I just got!

[Worker 11811]

Okay... It's where I work. I still get to see them every day.

 

[image]http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10380/normal_image.jpg[/image] [image]http://thefurden.com/cpgfd/albums/userpics/10380/normal_image~0.jpg[/image]

 

I came to work this morning and saw the fox and kits on the front desk in the lobby. Everybody thinks they look great!

 

The coyote has been here for a while, now, but they make a great display together.

 

The place where I work is like a welcome center and an educational facility where we get lots of kids and school groups. The kids are always interested in the coyote. There is a full coyote pelt for people to touch. I often get it down for kids so they can pet it and look at it.

 

90% of the kids who see the pelt like touching it. They often comment on how soft and nice it feels.

We even get a few kids who put the pelt over their heads, get down on all fours and howl like a coyote. Moms and dads love to snap pictures with their camera phones!

 

It always makes me look forward to going to work in the mornings!

[coyote 1]

That is an awesome display and your comments brought to mind one of my past experience's.

 

I was involved with a fur store in Quebec City a few years ago. The owner had four furs that he placed in front of his store (rabbit, coyote, raccoon and a fox vest) every spring. School groups tour the city as part of their education each spring exploring their history.

 

You’re so right worker young people love to stop and fondle the different furs.

 

The owner always had a couple hundred rabbit pelts in stock for sale in the store; at a bargain price. What I found interesting is the fact that boys bought double the amount of pelts; compared to the girls. I could pretty well guess what was going to become of those pelts as they spent time picking out the color they wanted. Over the years as the young girls turned into women they became repeat customers buying expensive fur coats. Those four furs turned out to an excellent strategy for future sales.

 

Hopefully your display will teach children to appreciate fur for its true value; over plastic coats made from oil.

 

Thanks for the pictures.

[Worker 11811]

The place where I work is an "environmental education center." No, it's not a hangout for bunny-huggers. It's run by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. I'm not one of the conservation officers but I talk to them every day at work.

 

When school groups come in there can be twenty or more kids looking at the coyote and the foxes trying to touch them. We can't have those expensive mounts getting all pawed up by kids. They have a couple of full pelts on the counter, in front of the coyote, to act as a decoy. We let the kids touch the pelts if they want.

 

Like I said, 90% of the kids go right for it.

 

When the Environmental Educators aren't around, I sometimes have to give a talk to groups of kids. When I show them the pelt, I hold it up and ask, "Did you know that coyotes have two kinds of fur?"

Then I show them the difference between the guard hair and the underfur. I tell them that the guard hair protects the coyote and keeps him clean. I tell them that the underfur is the insulation that keeps him warm.

You can often see the kids digging their fingers down to feel the softer underfur.

Before I send them off, I ask if any of the kids have dogs at home. (Hands raised.) That's when I tell them that coyotes are "cousins" to dogs and that many dogs have "two kinds of fur" just like coyotes. I tell the kids, when they get home, to carefully check their dog's fur to see if they can find the "two kinds of fur."

 

There is a coyote skull there on display, too. I often use the skull to demonstrate the "Eyes on the front: Born to hunt. -- Eyes on the side: Born to hide" speech. (i.e. Predator vs. prey.)

 

Here's the thing... The vast majority of the kids I see are drawn right to the fur and the animals. They are even fascinated by the skull and the predator/prey lesson. Only a few of the most timid kids don't touch the fur. After they see the more bolder ones touch it, they often join in. It is very rare to hear a kid say, "Yuck!" The only people who say "yuck" are the adults. It is usually upper-middle class, white women. They are usually the ones wearing cheap, costume jewelery and knock-off designer clothes. I think you can picture the type. I have never seen a Black woman say "yuck." I know that there are a few who don't dig fur but, in nearly every case, the Black women who don't like fur simply say, "No thank you."

 

However, racial and cultural differences aside, I can tell you from experience, most kids are interested in fur and many really like it. Only when adults tell them "fur is bad" do kids learn to fear or hate it.

 

That's where I come in. I tell it to them straight. I tell them, "This is a coyote pelt that comes from the skin of a coyote." I show them the leather and tell them that it's the same thing as the leather that their shoes are made from only, instead, it comes from a coyote. I tell them that coyotes catch and eat other animals, like rabbits, for food. I tell it to them in a nice way but I don't sugar coat it.

 

I hope that kids go away with a better understanding of what fur REALLY is and that they can make up their minds for themselves. Without adults trying to tell them what to think.

[rotwang]

I remember going to a museum as a school kid that had similar displays. We didn't think much about the animals being used by "evil people" to make coats etc. That's just the way things were. It was also interesting to touch the fur and pelts to learn what the animals felt like.

[Worker 11811]

We already have a coyote pelt in the display for people to touch. Like I said, most of the kids like it.

 

We just recently got a red fox pelt for kids to touch, too. A lot of them like to put it around their neck like a fox stole and pretend to be a movie star. Lots of photo ops for parents to take pics of their kids!

 

The fun part is watching the looks on kids faces when their parents tell them they have to pit it back but they don't want to give it up. I even had a little girl cry because she loved the fur so much and didn't want to let it go. I would have just given it to her if I could.

 

I wish I had a yummy, soft fox pelt to give to every kid who wants one.