Love Island daters warned over “attacking seals” in South Africa

Love Island 2023 is here, with the new season of the show already presenting new and unique challenges for daters in regard to the wildlife and aggressive seals that live within the beautiful beaches of South Africa.

Love Island 2023’s first episode aired on January 16. The season – which is being held in Cape Town, South Africa – is already garnering major attention online. 

And while most of this attention has to do with the show’s contestants and on-screen romance, a new issue for this upcoming season has popped up. One that could see upcoming beach dates affected as a result of some unusually aggressive seals across South Africa.

According to Mirror TV, “experts believe the seals have become unusually aggressive after digesting a toxic acid produced by marine algae, consumed by the fish they then eat. It is blamed for a mass death among the Cape Peninsula seal population, and for leaving survivors with brain damage. The usually docile sea mammals have recently attacked an American tourist and a young boy.”

A source for the outlet told Mirror that, “producers want to film romantic dates in the beautiful beaches of Cape Town, but the behavior of the local seal population is totally unpredictable at the moment, so they need to be avoided at all costs.”

Brett Glasby from Two oceans Aquarium explains that “the animals that survive domoic acid poisoning suffer neurological damage and we suspect that is what has led to an increase in the number of attacks.” 

The algae causing these issues typically only blooms for a few weeks. However, it has survived longer this year, with climate change and pollution a possible cause for this. These seals are a potential problem for future episodes of Love Island 2023.

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