Microscopical Analysis of Guard Hair of Tiger, <I>Panthera</I> <I> tigris</I>, with Reference to Wildlife Forensic Applications

Abstract

Electron Microscope Laboratory, Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Fac ility,North Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, IndiaGuard hair shows species-speciÞc characters in mammals. It is a cuticular structure exhibiting dif-ferences in appearance, colouration, length and diam eter. In the present study, the architectonicstructures of guard hair of 13 tigers have been studied, and the potential of guard hair microstruc-tures for species identiÞcation was evaluated. The guard hairs from four different body parts indifferent sexes and seasons were studied. Six qualitative and six quantitative characters from thehair, cuticular scale and medulla were studied and compared. The guard hair is found to be longerin female as compared to male and longer in summer than in winter. Differences in micro structuralfeatures of medulla were found in male and female. The unique lateral groove found in the guardhairs of tiger is an important observation made for the Þrst time in the present study. Four differenttypes of cuticular scale patterns are observed. A combination of any three scale patterns is found ina single guard hair throughout its length. The width of the guard hair varies among the individuals.The guard hair is wider in winter as compared to summer. The ANOVA analysis shows that varia-tions in guard hairs among the individuals in terms of length and diameter of different sections ofthe hair, different geographical locations and seasons are signiÞcant and can have applications inwild life forensic science through the identiÞcation of guard hairs collected from the scene of crime.