Perfect, that helps. I don’t know the taxidermist your using or what tannery or method he uses for tanning but I’ve seen that before in a tannery I used to use and have experienced it before in my own tanning once. What most likely is occurring is the PH levels in either the pickle (salt/acid/water mixture) or the tanning mixture were really low for a sustained time such as 2.0 or lower to accidentally acid-burn the hair which is commonly seen on the lighter colored areas. The other potential situation is after tanning, which is typically a very acidic process, the hide/cape was not ‘buffered’ meaning the PH in the skin was not brought back up to a neutral level (5.0-7.0). The skin, which holds the tanning product, can remain acidic which causes fading and potentially long term issues with hair becoming brittle. Have you even seen an older mountain goat, cougar, or ram mount that looks yellowish-tan? That’s a good example of what acid can do to the hair both quickly and over time. I reference those types of species as they are lighter and more delicate that most and it’s typically seen first on these animals. Tanning products and methods are much more thorough/safer with the developement of newer synthetic tanning products, however lots of guys/taxis and some tanneries stick to the older methods such as aluminum sulfate. This is not necessarily a bad thing or less of a tan, you just have to watch PH levels much more closely to avoid such things as what your describing.
This is typically the most common association with your description of the white areas on the cape.
The other potential is when airbrushing was done in the final stages of the mount by the taxi some paint may have gotten onto the whiter areas. Taxidermists usually use water-based laquer paint for big game as it comes off hair easily with light brushing with a small brush, but retains on the skin. Long shot, but another thing is it could just be some layered paint that was retained on the nearby painted area that wasn’t cleaned off. Airbrushing is very light and it would be hard to determine if the area was not lighter unless the tax had photos or a memory to reflect the whiter areas….again, a potentially explanation.
Florescent lighting can also cause that as well over time. Not that this is what your dealing with, but I always tell people to never install florescent lighting in their trophy rooms or put a mount under this type of lighting in a shop or garage…it fades mounts badly.
Hopefully this helped. Again, not definitive, but my best guess on what the issue is based on your description.
