The impact of water temperature on core body temperature of North American river otters (Lutra canadensis) during simulated oil spill recovery washing protocols.

Ten North American river otters (Lutra canadensis) were anesthetized with Telazol and instrumented with ingestable radiotelemetry temperature sensors for measuring core body temperature. The otters were then subjected to a washing protocol to simulate rehabilitation following an oil spill contamination. This protocol consisted of a 30-min wash in a 1:16 dilution of dishwashing liquid using either cold (24 degrees C) water or water near baseline core body temperature (38.4 degrees C), followed by a 30-min rinse with water of the same temperature, followed by 10 min of forced hot air drying. Core body temperatures of the otters washed in cold water fell at a median rate of 0.1 degrees C/min, whereas otters washed in warm water maintained stable core temperatures until the completion of the protocol, at which time their core temperatures began to drop at a similar rate. Core temperatures restabilized in both groups, and no statistical difference in core temperature between groups remained 180 min after initiation of the protocol. Efforts to examine the efficacy of supplemental squalene administration to speed the recovery of fur condition and waterproofing were unsuccessful because the washing protocol did not cause loss of coat waterproofing in 8 of the 10 subjects.