Post mortem examination
Samples and data are collected for further research during post-mortem examination. All of the otters are carefully examined both externally and internally.
Understanding Animal Research have produced videos about otter post-mortems and some of the projects that use our samples.
Data collected
- basic morphometric data (weight and length)
- sex, age, reproductive status
- markings
- teeth - wear, breakages, or signs of infection
- injuries (including fighting injuries)
- fat and muscle layers
- abnormalities of abdominal and thoracic organs
Samples archived
- pelt and vibrissae (whiskers)
- ectoparasites
- blood
- organs
- kidney stones
- prey remains from stomach
- skull, baculum (penis bone), hind right limb (tibia, fibula and femur), and rib. All bone samples are cleaned and archived by the National Museum of Scotland.
Contact
If you are interested in accessing data or samples for research projects please contact:
