UK killer whale died with extreme levels of toxic pollutants

Guardian: ‘Adult whale Lulu was one of UK’s last resident pod and had never produced a calf, probably because pollutants in her blubber had caused infertility. ‘One of the highest concentrations of toxic pollutants ever recorded in a marine mammal has been revealed in a Scottish killer whale that died in 2016. The adult whale, known as Lulu, was a member of the UK’s last resident pod and a post-mortem also showed she had never produced a calf. The pollutants, called PCBs, are known to cause infertility and these latest findings add to strong evidence that the pod is doomed to extinction. The level of PCBs found in Lulu’s blubber were extreme at 950mg/kg, more than 100 times the 9mg/kg limit above which damage to the health of marine mammals is known to occur. A 2016 analysis showed the average concentration for killer whales in the north-east Atlantic was about 150mg/kg. Lulu died after becoming tangled in ropes used to haul up creels, the netted cages used to catch lobsters and crabs. But Andrew Brownlow, head of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, said: “Given what is known about the toxic effects of PCBs, we have to consider that such a high-pollutant burden could have been affecting her health and reproductive fitness.” Click here to read more.