Pollution Trends in River Otter in Georgia
Eighty-one river otter (Lutra canadensis) carcasses were collected from trappers and a fur dealer in Georgia during the 1979 - 80 and 1980 - 81 trapping seasons for environmental pollutant analysis. Mercury occurred in all muscle, liver, and hair samples analyzed with ranges of 0.2 to 13, 1.2 to 60, and 7.1 to 155 ppm, respectively. Detectable cesium-137 occurred in 77% of the samples ranging from less than 141 to 6,660 pCi/kg. DDT and its metabolites were detected in 97% of the otter fat samples at levels ranging from 0.08 to 91.90 ppm. Mirex, dieldrin, and PCBs were found in 68, 59, and...
