A scientific study conducted over eight years since 2013 on small carnivores found 13 different types of metal in their fur, and – worryingly – lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium, too.
Project leader and the first author of the research paper, Dr Meaghan Evans, said the metals found in wild Malayan civets and palm civets could be dangerous to not just the animals but humans, too. The team found that certain metal levels in civet fur were associated with the animal’s age, weight, proximity to tributaries and access to oxbow lakes.
“Civets that spent time on oil palm plantations had significantly elevated concentrations of aluminium, lead and cadmium in their fur samples compared with animals that stayed in protected forests,” said Evans. Sabah Wildlife Department assistant director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar said the study was groundbreaking as it coincided with the post-mortem report on the deaths of three Borneo pygmy elephants from cadmium poisoning last month.
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