For the enthusiastic wild-life collectors of exotic animal skins, brown zebra skin rugs offer a rare chance to own authenticated animal skin. As the zebra skin rug derived from the African species Burchells are not in the endangered list of animals, import of the zebra skin does not violate any international convention. However by knowing more about the zebra skins and the facts about the trade, you would benefit in getting a genuine product at the right rate.
Exotic stripes of zebra
The rare combination of stripes of white and brown of the zebra makes it the favorite of the wild-life collectors. Even to most animal enthusiasts the brown and white stripes of zebra is a revelation as the brown stripes always looks black from a distance. The brown color varies between dark brown and soft tan brown while the lighter shade is also more of off-white or light brown in color. The size, number and the shape of the stripes also vary depending on the species. The burchell zebra has about 30 stripes on its hide, while few other species have even up to 80-90 stripes on them.
Regulated market for zebra skins
Since species of zebra like the Hartmans and the Mountain zebra are protected species and as only the Burchells are not an endangered species, the zebra skin trade is highly regulated. Hence it is very important for you to source the brown zebra skin rugs only from authentic sources. You may hence have to take proper care to verify not only the status of the seller but also the papers regarding the clearance from the US Customs and US Wildlife department.
Authentic zebra skins
Though authentic zebra skins are available with proper governmental approval, many fly-by-night operators are on the prowl to pass-off fake zebra skins as original to the gullible buyers to rake in profit. By understanding and knowing the characteristics of the zebra skin and their texture you could be guarded against the mechanization of the evil animal sellers. The foremost feature that you should look out for is the injury marks on the zebra skin. Since from birth as these animals protect themselves by fleeing from dangerous predators, it is natural for them to have suffered these injury marks. Thus when a seller displays a zebra skin without these marks, you ought to suspect their genuineness.
The price factor for zebra skins
Even though the injury marks on the zebra skin authenticates the original from the fake, the more the number of injury marks, lower is the demand for them. Hence quality of zebra skin is said to deteriorate with the number of injury marks and proportionately the rates of the zebra skin are reduced. The price of zebra skin averages between $500 and $2000, depending on its quality.
The other factor that you have to look out for while buying brown zebra skin rugs is the quality of tanning. Quality in tanning ensures that the zebra skins last a lifetime. By having an eye for the details discussed above you would end-up with superior quality and authenticated zebra skin rugs for display at your home.