Heavy metals posing a threat to Kinabatangan wildlife

Gathering data: Dr Evans fixing a GPS collar on an anaesthetised Malayan civet.

KOTA KINABALU: Heavy metal pollution from unknown sources around plantations is posing a threat to Sabah’s wildlife, according to groundbreaking research.

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.