Thermal properties of the pelages of selected African ungulates

Abstract

In wild African ungulates the thickness of the pelage decreases with increasing body size. Thermal conductance decreases with increasing pelage depth, despite the fact that conductivity increases with increasing depth. Forced convection has a more pronounced effect upon the insulation of thin pelages than on thicker pelages, because in thin pelages the boundary layer is of greater importance. The colour differences between the ungulate species result in weighted mean absorptances for solar radiation which vary between 0, 25 and 0, 85. The thermal properties of the pelages of African ungulates play an important role in the physiological ecology of these animals.