Environ Monit Assess (2011) 182:477–484 DOI 10.1007/s10661-011-1891-3 Concentration of heavy metals in hair and skin of silver and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) Andrzej Filistowicz · Zbigniew Dobrza ´ nski · Piotr Przysiecki · Slawomir Nowicki · Aneta Filistowicz Received: 12 August 2010 / Accepted: 25 January 2011 / Published online: 16 February 2011 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract The structure of hair and levels of main chemical elements (C, N, O, S, Cl, Ca, P, Al, Na) in the external layer of hair of silver and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in a non-industrialised, typ- ically agricultural region of middle-west Poland was assessed using a scanning microscope. Addi- tionally, analysis of the accumulation of certain heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in hair (washed) and skin (non-tanned) of those foxes was conducted. Heavy metal levels were deter- mined using a spectrophotometric method (ICP- OES), and correlations between these levels in hair and skin were calculated. The microscopic external (morphological) and internal structures (histological) of the hair of farm and wild foxes A. Filistowicz (B ) · Z. Dobrza ´ nski Faculty of Biology and Animal Breeding, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland e-mail: andrzej.filistowicz@up.wroc.pl P. Przysiecki · A. Filistowicz Institute of Agriculture, National Higher Vocational School, 64-100 Leszno, Poland S. Nowicki Faculty of Animal Breeding and Biology, Department of Small Mammals Breeding and Animal Raw Materials, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 62-002 Suchy Las, Zlotniki, Poland were not differentiated; however, the hair of farm foxes (external layer) contained higher amounts of C, Na, Al and P. A significantly higher Pb content was noted in non-tanned skin of wild foxes in comparison to farm ones. In the case of farm foxes, a significantly higher Zn content in hair and Zn and Cu in skin was observed in comparison to wild ones. Positive significant correlations be- tween Cr and Ni content (r = 0.622) and Zn and Cu (r = 0.721) in fox skin were noted. A similar relationship between Cr content in hair and Ni in skin (r = 0.643) and between Zn in hair and skin (r = 0.595) was also observed. Keywords Silver fox · Red fox · Hair · Skin · Heavy metals · Correlation Introduction Animal hairs are a specific biological–chemical indicator, and the levels of chemical elements, e.g. essential minerals and trace elements, including heavy metals, they contain reflect climatic condi- tions and the state of the environment including soils, water and plants (Dey et al. 1999; Wang et al. 2010). In the case of farm animals, min- eral nutrition is of special significance as regards the elemental composition of their organism, in- cluding the skin (Cybulski et al. 2009b; Jamroz 2009). It is commonly known that environmental