Seal’s mystery ability to tolerate toxic metal could aid medical research, say scientists

The Juan Fernandez fur seal, once thought extinct, can ingest cadmium without ill effects - though no one knows how

A creature that humans came very close to obliterating now offers hope that we may be able to find ways to tackle one of the most pernicious environmental poisons, say scientists.

Their research has revealed that one of the world's most isolated aquatic mammals, Arctocephalus philippii, can tolerate high levels of cadmium, as well as other metallic pollutants, without suffering ill effects.