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- Title
Blood Lead Levels in Captive Giant Pandas.
- Authors
Wintle, Nathan J. P.; Martin-Wintle, Meghan S.; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhang, Hemin
- Abstract
Fifteen giant pandas ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca) from the Chinese Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Bifengxia, Sichuan, China were analyzed for blood lead concentrations (Pb-B) during the 2017 breeding season. Thirteen of the 15 bears showed Pb-B below the method detection limit (MDL) of 3.3 µg/dL. The two remaining bears, although above the MDL, contained very low concentrations of lead of 3.9 and 4.5 µg/dL. All 15 giant pandas in this analysis had Pb-B concentrations that were within normal background concentrations for mammals in uncontaminated environments. For a threatened species, whose native country is plagued by reports of extremely high air pollution, our findings suggest that giant pandas at the CCRCGP are not absorbing lead at concentrations that would adversely affect their health.
- Subjects
GIANT panda; LEAD poisoning; POLLUTION; ANIMAL ecology; ANIMALS -- Environmental aspects
- Publication
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination & Toxicology, 2018, Vol 100, Issue 1, p59
- ISSN
0007-4861
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00128-017-2221-4