Dietary contamination through waterbirds
Our most interesting and unexpected discovery was that caracals hunting within or nearby coastal and wetland areas in Cape Town, where they enjoy a diet rich in aquatic-adapted birds, were more exposed to harmful metals like arsenic, mercury, and selenium than those on the urban edges. This suggests that aquatic prey species - seabirds and waterbirds like Cape cormorants, gulls, Egyptian geese, and yellow billed ducks - are likely the main source of metal exposure in caracal.
Our findings highlight that Cape Town's freshwater and marine systems are likely more polluted than expected. Aquatic environments generally act as long-term sinks which accumulate a range of pollutants. Coal combustion, emissions from domestic fuel burning, natural fires and untreated city wastewater are all likely sources of metal contamination.
This may have implications for the health of other mammalian and avian predators in our study area, as well as human health implications for local fishing communities and wider seafood consumers.The City of Cape Town can do more to evaluate and mitigate this issue.Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
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