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Ethylene glycol (antifreeze) poisoning in a free-ranging polar bear
S C Amstrup1, C Gardner, K C Myers
1Alaska Fish and Wildlife Research Center, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage 99503.
Veterinary and Human Toxicology
|August 1, 1989
Abstract:
The bright, fluorescent pink-colored remains of a polar bear were found on an Alaskan island with the gravel and snow adjacent to the bear colored bright purple. Traces of fox urine and feces found nearby were also pink. The pink and purple colors were due to rhodamine B, and ethylene glycol (EG) was present in the soil under the carcass. Evidence is given to suggest the bear consumed a mixture of rhodamine B and EG commonly used to mark roads and runways during snow and ice periods. Such wildlife losses could be prevented by substituting propylene glycol for the EG in such mixtures.