 The cause of Mertz 's death is not certain ; at the time , it was believed Mertz may have died of colitis . A 1969 study by Sir John Cleland and R. V. Southcott of the University of Adelaide concluded that the symptoms Mawson described — hair , skin and weight loss , depression , dysentery and persistent skin infections — indicated the men had suffered hypervitaminosis A , an excessive intake of vitamin A. Vitamin A is found in unusually high quantities in the livers of Greenland Dogs , of which both Mertz and Mawson consumed large amounts ; indeed , as Mertz 's condition deteriorated , Mawson may have given him more of the liver to eat , believing it to be more easily digested . This theory is the most widely accepted , but there have been other theories . Phillip Law , former director of Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions ( <unk> ) , believed cold exposure could account for Mertz 's symptoms . A 2005 article in The Medical Journal of Australia by Denise Carrington @-@ Smith , noting certain sources indicating that Mertz was essentially a vegetarian , suggested that general malnutrition and the sudden change to a predominantly meat diet could have triggered Mertz 's illness . Carrington @-@ Smith adds a more hypothetical reason : " the psychological stresses related to the death of a close friend [ Ninnis ] and the deaths of the dogs he had cared for , as well as the need to kill and eat his remaining dogs " . 
