Shennongjia releases micrographs of unknown animal's hair (via Chad Arment)

November 25, 2010

The Shengnongjia National Nature Reserve has released the micrographs of unknown animal hair on its website on Nov. 22.
The micrographs show that the hair of the unknown animal is very different from human hair and horse tail hair. Therefore, the exact origin of the hair is worth studying.

The micrographs that have been released are from the molecular lab under the Research Institute of Shennongjia National Nature Reserve. Using a microscope, Piao Jinlan, a researcher from the molecular lab, observed the unknown hair samples, which included black and light brown hair, and translucent cream-colored hair from the area where locals originally found the unknown hair.

She also used horse tail hair taken from a ski field located in southern Shennongjia and women's hair as references to compare her findings.

Researchers spent nearly half a day to compare the hairs and their observable internal structures and agreed that they cannot determine whether the unknown hair is human hair or horse tail hair.

Although Piao has been using and looking through microscopes for a long time, the microscopic images of this unknown animal hair still surprised her.

However, she believes that a further in-depth analysis is still needed, with more scientific technical means to make a qualitative conclusion. The local nature conservation sectors said they will not rule out adopting any openly suggested scientific identification methods in order to determine the source of the unknown animal hair as early as possible and to unveil the mystery of the unknown animal.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90782/7210877.html