"Abnormal" turtles are already in Canada-may be ready to strike

[underpants]

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040428.wxturtles28/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/

Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004


Toronto — Canadian researchers studying wildlife on the Great Lakes have found sexual abnormalities in male snapping turtles, with penis size diminished and some males able to produce egg yolk protein, a capability normally found only in females.

The research, conducted by biologists with the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada, is part of a growing body of international evidence indicating that many species are suffering from exposure to so-called gender-bending chemicals, industrial pollutants that have been found to mimic sex hormones.

The turtles with abnormal penis size were found in Ontario: in the Detroit River near Windsor, the St. Clair River near Sarnia, and the harbour of Wheatley, a small fishing community on Lake Erie. All three sites are pollution hot spots.

THEY'VE ALREADY GOT A MASCOT!