Bird flu causes massive seal deaths in the Southern Hemisphere

latimes.com [$]

H5N1 bird flu caused massive mortality in Southern Hemisphere elephant seals, with a 47% drop in breeding females on South Georgia Island. The virus devastated seal populations in 2023, leading to thousands of carcasses and orphaned pups. Nearly 97% of elephant seal pups died in Argentina in 2023. The full impact on seals, sea lions, and fur seals is unknown, with concerns the virus could spread to California populations.


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