HAIR MOUNTING TECHNIQUE: HELPFUL IN CONSERVATION OF CARNIVORES

Abstract

Mammalian hair is the best source to solve the biological problems like species identification and diet analysis of endangered large carnivores because it is difficult to examine the intestinal contents of the large carnivores. Mammalian hair has the three basic parts cuticle, cortex and medulla. These parts undergo labs for the mounting technique. In mounting technique hairs are placed on glass slide and mount is pasted on them then observed under photomicroscope to examine hair cuticle and medullary structure under the high magnification. 100x to 400x magnification is considered best for hair mounting technique. Take the sketch under photomicroscope then compare it with reference book. This technique can be applied on large and small carnivores, rodents and birds. By this study we can explore not only diet but species identification, habitat analysis, predator-prey relationship and human-carnivores conflict can also be assessed