Hair is mammalian epidermal exoskeleton and having distinctive specialized anatomic structure consisting of cells and three concentric layers viz. cuticle, cortex and medulla. The main aim of this study was to compare gross and microscopic difference and similarity of hair of tiger and leopard. Four hair samples from four different body regions (neck, back, abdomen and tail) were collected from different four animals of each species for gross and microscopic studies. The present work showed that hair is one of the important tools for species identification. However, a single hair analysis parameter cannot be a confirmative proof, however; a combination of parameters like gross and microscopic studies namely medullary configuration, cuticular scale pattern and cross section of hair can be used for species identification.

Keywords: Hair, parameter, gross, and microscopic