Toxic towns: Drivers of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in an urban edge carnivore.

78% of Cape Town caracals show liver concentrations of anticoagulant rodenticides, with a median of three compounds per individual, indicating repeated, long-term exposure.

• Why it matters: Understanding AR exposure in urban-edge wildlife is crucial as it poses a cryptic threat to already vulnerable populations amid habitat loss and human-related mortality.
• What they did: Researchers analyzed liver samples from 102 caracals using generalized linear models to examine AR diversity, concentrations, and their relationships with sex, age, habitat, and urban features.
• The result: Older and caracals in greener urban areas with amenities had higher AR burdens and diversity, highlighting landscape drivers of exposure and supporting policies to reduce AR use near wildlife habitats.