Krakow:
I seriously doubt if you will ever find any written enlightenment. However, it may be well to keep in mind that before the invention of wildlife photography, the only references to how various animals actually looked was the animals themselves (dead in museums) or alive (and about to swiftly depart one's company) or... other artistic interpretations. Thus, accurate models were not easily attained. Combine that with the fact that not one in 1000 engravers had any formal artistic training, and you can fairly well draw your own conclusions.
