Collection: Arctic tanuki

Tanukis are a species originating from Asia. In Europe they are also called raccoondog or finnraccoon. The name finnraccoon comes from the fact that Finland has almost all tanuki farms on the continent. Tanuki fur is extremely plush with a thick undercoat and long tufts of guard hair. It's often used as parka hood trim because of it's large volume and long fur. 

Arctic tanukis have a reddish color, ranging from a pale red to dark reddish brown. The name arctic might seem strange, considering arctic foxes are white and arctic tanukis are not. White tanukis are simply called white and the white color mutation was discovered before the arctic mutation. The arctic mutation is one of the most rare color mutations of tanuki, only a few thousand pelts are produced every year and the color variety is large so it’s difficult to match pelts for color and size. 

Because the species carries a lot of fat just below the skin, just like an arctic fox, the pelts need to be cleaned well before tanning. Sadly a lot of pelts are handled improperly, causing grease burn from leftover fat which causes fur loss. Fur loss is worst on the belly where skin is thinner, as well as the base of the tail where an oily gland sits. This is the reason tanuki pelts lose their tails in the tanning process more often than fox pelts.