Cross fox fur

With its considerably varying color of dominant red and recessive black, the cross fox coat stands between the silver fox coat and the red fox coat. Like the silver fox, the cross fox is a subspecies of the red fox. Known for its notably diverse coloration, the coat shows transitions to both red and silver fox. The darkest types are very similar to silver fox fur, while some come very close to red fox fur. MacKendrik distinguishes five color types in the wild cross fox.^[1]

A characteristic feature is the black, or at least dark, cross-like markings between the front paws, which spread over the neck and shoulders. The back and sides are various shades of pale or brownish yellow, reddish or dark brown, often with a strong silver tinge. The chest and belly sometimes show more light, sometimes almost dark grey colors.^[1]

The best American varieties come from the Labrador Peninsula and the Hudson Bay area. They often show beautiful, clear and contrasting colors and have excellent coat quality.^[2]

When fur animals are divided into the fineness categories, among which are silky, fine, medium-fine, coarser and hard, cross fox hair is classified as fine.^[3]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

From the beginning of the 20th century until the 1940s, fur fashion was still dominated by long-haired fur types. At this time, cross fox furs fetched considerable prices, which at times were only slightly behind the astonishing prices paid for silver fox furs. When fashion turned to flat-haired furs at the beginning of the Second World War in 1939/40, initially karakul and later mink (in Germany only at the beginning of the currency reform in 1948), cross fox fur also experienced a decline on the market for a long time. Around the 1970s, together with other long-haired fur types, it slowly began to attract more attention again after the red fox, especially for embellishments and hood trimmings.^[4] Since the 1990s, it has increasingly been used for these purposes on a larger scale again.

Origins:

• The best American varieties come from the Labrador Peninsula and the Hudson Bay area. The pelts are of excellent quality and often have a beautiful, clear and contrasting color with a dense, soft undercoat and long silky-like guard hairs.

• Canadian ones (abbreviated): YF – York Fort (around Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba to western Hudson Bay); WA – Western Arctic; EB – Eskimo Bay; FG – Fort George; MR – Moose River; LS – Lake Superior; CANA – Canada.

The classification by size is the same as for the American red fox.

Assortment of Hudson's Bay and Annings Ltd., London (of Canadian origin):

Grades: I, I & II, II, III, IV, Damaged, Hybrid

Colors: fine, dark, medium, medium pale, silvery, pale slate silver, pale, extra pale

• Asian pelts have a yellowish tint, they are often less silvered and have weaker markings.

• The Russian classification distinguishes between cross foxes with a clearly cross-like pattern and Syvodushka foxes, which are more reddish-brown-silvery and have a dark brown undercoat, their belly part and chest are dark gray.

The distinction is made:

1. according to the softness of the hair:

a) silky b) less silky c) coarse

2. according to the density of hair growth:

a) particularly dense b) dense c) medium dense d) less dense

3. By types:

1st type: Full-haired, completely hairy, with dense, regular upper hair over the entire surface of the fur and with dense undercoat; hairy tail.

2nd type: Pelage not completely hairy, upper hair and undercoat a little shorter, especially on the back; hairy tail.

3rd type: Semi-haired (transitional spring and fall coats); upper hair and undercoat are dense but short. Tail with little hair.

4th type: Short hair growth, undercoat dense but short, belly part also short-haired.^[2]

The pelts are usually delivered in a round shape, with the hair facing outwards.

In 1950, it was stated for Russia: “The supply of cross foxes, which occur in spring and summer, and the trade with such pelts is prohibited.”.^[5]

The question of how the red fox comes to this color has been controversial for a long time. Investigations at the American experimental farm Saratoga Springs and the Moscow zoo farm Pushkino clearly showed that it is a hybrid form of the red fox. Cross foxes cannot be bred purely; they always split into red, cross and silver foxes. For example, the so-called “patch fox”, which is more similar to the silver fox but has gray and brownish markings on the shoulders and back, results from the mating of the Alaskan silver fox and the Canadian silver fox, which behave genetically differently. Crossing the Alaskan silver fox and the East American red fox results in animals with a more colorful and lively fur. Crossing the Canadian silver fox with the European silver fox produces the so-called hybrid fox. The coloration varies greatly, ranging from red fox to cross fox. However, the colors and markings are predominantly darker than those of the red fox.^[1]

The breeding of the cross fox began in the 1920s, the peak of the long-haired fur fashion. However, when prices fell due to the Great Depression, breeders quickly lost interest. Nevertheless, 165 silver foxes from Alaska were released in Finland at the end of the 1930s and mated with the native red foxes, achieving the hoped-for results. As mentioned, this mating results in a variety of hybrid foxes with all the transitions from red fox to cross fox.^[1]

The Scandinavian breeders' association Saga offers a fur type with a "wild" look in limited numbers under the name Gold Cross Fox. The color varies from dark gray to dark red, always with a distinctive cross pattern.^[6]