Article Environmental chromium from the tannery industry induces altered reproductive endpoints in the wild female small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctatus) Shaista Andleeb 1 , Tariq Mahmood 1 and Azeem Khalid 2 Abstract The populations of wild animals are declining in many parts of the world in response to man-made alterations in the environment. Environmental contamination due to heavy metals discharge from industry may contribute to the decline of wild animal populations by impacting their reproduction, growth, and development. In the leather tanning industry, chromium (Cr) is used as a basic component, but it is a potent toxicant that can affect many of the phy- siological functions of animals. In the current study, we investigated the reproductive toxicity of industrial Cr in female small Indian mongooses inhabiting a tannery area. Adult female specimens were live trapped from February 2015 to January 2016. Blood and other body tissues (ovaries, kidneys and liver) of the captured specimens were collected along with soil and water samples from the environment for analysis. The Cr concentrations were found significantly (p < 0.0001) increased compared to control in the environment, blood, and all body tissues of the animals. Estradiol and progesterone levels were found to be significantly decreased in comparison with control (p < 0.0001), along with reduced ovarian weights, while follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone levels were found sig- nificantly (p < 0.0001) elevated. Light microscopy revealed significantly decreased in comparison with control ovarian follicle numbers (p < 0.0001) and diameters, vacuolization of the oocytes, and a significantly higher percentage of atretic follicles inside the ovary. We conclude that Cr discharged from the tanneries is absorbed by the exposed female small Indian mongoose, leading to ovarian dysfunction with potential impairment of reproductive function. Keywords Chromium, toxicity, small Indian mongoose, ovary, progesterone, histology Received 12 September 2018; Revised 27 September 2018; Accepted 31 October 2018 Introduction Increased concern about ecological contamination due to heavy metals has drawn serious attention from scientists and created opportunities for conducting active toxicological studies (Marques et al., 2000). Environmental contamination by chromium (Cr) is increasing because of the wide range of industrial usages of the metal, including in leather tanning pro- cesses (Banu et al., 2011). Approximately 40% of all industrially used Cr is directly discharged into waste- water (Esmaeili et al., 2005), causing soil contamina- tion (Szulczewski et al., 1997) and serious health problems to humans and wild animals (Desai et al., 2008). It is well-known that Cr can exist in a series of oxidation states (2 to þ6); among these, trivalent (Cr-III) and hexavalent (Cr-VI) compounds are thought to be the biologically most significant. 1 Department of Wildlife Management, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan 2 Department of Environmental Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan Corresponding author: Tariq Mahmood, Department of Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry, Range management and Wildlife, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46300, Pakistan. Email: tariqjanjua75@uaar.edu.pk Toxicology and Industrial Health 1–14  The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0748233718814975 journals.sagepub.com/home/tih