Animals and Medical Geology

It has been recognized for a very long time that animals can become sick after grazing in certain areas of the world. Eventually, it was determined that local geochemical anomalies were responsible, but in some cases the exact mechanisms behind the deficiencies and intoxications have only been known for the last 50–70 years. Local geochemical anomalies affect both domestic and wild herbivorous animals living in an area; however, wild animals will be especially susceptible to deficiency or intoxication due to the fact that they normally are totally dependent on feeds growing in their territory.