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'Bleak' future for seals decimated by bird flu, scientists warn
Bird flu caused a 47% drop in breeding females at South Georgia, killing about 53,000 seals and causing high pup mortality from abandoned and infected mothers.
- On Thursday, a UK research team reported that breeding females on South Georgia Island declined by 47,000 between 2022 and 2024, according to Communications Biology.
- Dense colonies on breeding beaches on South Georgia Island facilitate virus spread as researchers say transmission occurs via airborne droplets between southern elephant seals, including in Peninsula Valdes, Argentina.
- Field teams counted about 17,000 deaths in weeks, including more than 95% of pups, with local research teams reporting nearly 97% pup mortality at Peninsula Valdes, Argentina in 2023.
- The British Antarctic Survey estimates more than 50,000 females disappeared from one year to the next, and Connor Bamford said, `There are thousands of them together, all coughing and splattering`.
- Researchers warn the H5N1 bird flu outbreak's aftermath at Peninsula Valdes could last until the century's end, and scientists caution it may mutate and spread to North American Pacific coast populations or people.
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Now, for elephant seals, the situation is "heartbreaking," said Connor Bamford, the lead author of the study on elephant seals.
Bird flu slams seals and sea lions at the bottom of the world but spares Pacific Coast so far
The largest population of elephant seals in the world suffered massive mortality in 2023 from H5N1 bird flu infection. Animal experts fear for California's elephant seals.
·Los Angeles, United States
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Elephant seals, the world's most important seal species, have been decimated by bird flu, scientists warn, citing rapid population declines.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources19
Leaning Left3Leaning Right6Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Right
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources lean Right
55% Right
L 27%
C 18%
R 55%
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