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Australia Races to Shield Little Penguins From H5N1 Bird Flu

Australian wildlife authorities have launched an urgent vaccination campaign to protect little penguins from the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu, following the first confirmed death of a Phillip Island penguin from the virus.
Officials plan to vaccinate up to 5,000 little penguins at Phillip Island and Melbourne’s St Kilda, making the effort one of the largest, and potentially the largest, vaccination campaigns involving wild birds.
Each penguin must receive two vaccine doses, requiring wildlife teams to carefully capture, process and identify the birds during their movements between the sea and nesting areas.
The threat is particularly serious because Phillip Island is home to about 40,000 little penguins that live closely together, creating conditions in which the virus could spread rapidly through the colony.
The emergency response comes as H5 bird flu spreads among Australian wildlife, with mass deaths reported in South Australia and additional penguin deaths under investigation in Tasmania, raising fears for vulnerable native species.

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