26/08/2026
🚨 NEW PAPER ALERT: TOXIC TOWNS 🚨
Caracals are red warning lights for wildlife exposure to rat poisons in and around Cape Town!
Our latest paper shows that rat poison usage is high across the city, winelands, and coastal areas of the Cape. Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) dominated. Potent, persistent and slow-acting, they can take up to two weeks to kill a rodent. Meanwhile, it may keep feeding and become easier prey, moving poison up the food web.
Where was most risky for caracals? Urban areas, places with lots of restaurants, cafés and food courts that do not properly manage their waste, and vineyards. Wetlands, which are places where a lot of pollutants accumulate due to run-off from streets, gardens and farms, were also linked to high levels of exposure.
Older caracals were exposed to higher levels and more compounds - up to six different poisons in a single individual! This means caracals are being exposed over and over again, and that these poisons bioaccumulate in their bodies over time.
We do not know what the health impacts of this exposure are for caracals specifically. In other carnivores, exposure has been linked to poorer condition, immune disruption and greater disease susceptibility.
What can you do?
🏠 Seal entry points and secure food, pet food, compost and waste.
🪤 Use snap traps rather than poison, where appropriate.
☠️ Avoid anticoagulants, especially SGARs such as brodifacoum and bromadiolone. Check the active ingredient, not only the brand.
🚫 Never scatter loose bait outdoors.
🧤 If poison is unavoidable, use a trained operator and tamper-resistant bait stations. Remove dead rodents and leftover bait.
📣 Ask body corporates, workplaces and businesses to prevent, monitor and trap first - poison should be a last resort!
No rat poison is wildlife-safe! Read “Toxic towns” in Environmental Pollution: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749126012297
🖊️ Amy Novella
