I'm a beginner tanner, I've been practicing by tanning a few hides, never seen this before though. I noticed the skin is striped? This was a wild black tailed jackrabbit caught in the West Coast USA. Is this normal?? I researched it to death, and I can't find anything about what can cause striped skin in a jackrabbit. It was a healthy looking rabbit, very responsive, no lethargy or anything like that, just wondering if this is normal or some sort of disease?
>>2728631This is pretty normal anon AFAIK. Rabbits have really really really thin skin, almost as thin as a bird's, and that means you can see the coloration of the skin through the interior. If you ever had a multi-colored dog with spots and parted its fur in different locations, you'd see that some spots are pink while others are black. That's what you're seeing here. Sometimes that matches with the coloration/pattern of the fur, sometimes it doesn't. Don't worry about it; completely normal.
I'm afraid that this is a classic case of rabbit AIDS. Please go get tested anon.
>>2728631was the rabbit female? if so, look into X chromosome inactivation. females have two X chromosomes but one is deactivated randomly upon embryonic elongation. this is why calico cats have a mix of mom and dads fur color. human women have this too but is only visible under UV spectrum cameras
>>2728631This is pretty normal. I think it occurs when the coat begins to transition from winter to summer. I've seen it in cottontails and jackrabbits. Other furbearers will sometimes display this as their coats are changing, too. I don't think I've ever seen it on any pelt between October and the beginning of January, possibly the beginning of February.
