Have you been watching the David Attenborough "Life of Mammals" prog?
The sea otter came up there as having the densest pelt of all mammals.
I forget how many hairs per unit area, but more than most! The penguin
does the same trick with its feathers - more per unit area. The sea
otter may well have more differentiation between the guard hairs (long
ones) and the short crinkly under hairs which entrain the air. On the
film, the guard hairs were sticking together quite a lot, giving the
beast a rather spikey, punk, look. There was certainly a lot of bulk
there, though. And I thought exactly the same as Phil.
The sea otter was nearly eliminated (down to an estimated 1000
individuals) because people wanted its fur. But I'd be very surprised
if anyone had measured its properties. I remain to be amazed!
Julian
> Phil Sheppard wrote:
>
> Has anyone got any references for work on the insulating properties of
> sea otter fur and the differences between it and the 'Penguin Effect'.
>
> Phil Sheppard
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Julian FV Vincent [log in to unmask]
Professor of Biomimetics office 01225 386596
Centre for Biomimetics & Natural Technologies mobile 07941 933901
Dept of Mechanical Engineering fax 01225 386928
The University
BATH BA2 7AY
http://www.bath.ac.uk/Departments/Eng/biomimetics/
I hate quotations. Tell me what you know. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
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