Elephant Seals Shed Mercury Along With Their Fur

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Northern elephant seals offload accumulated mercury to the environment through annual molting of their fur. Priya Ganguli

Being apex predators in the North Pacific, elephant seals accumulate high concentrations of mercury in their bodies, and when they shed their fur during their annual molt, they offload that toxic metal too. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, suggest that the marine mammals might be contributing significant amounts of the environmental contaminant to coastal ecosystems.