Saturday, June 20th 2026 - 20:35 UTC
Australian Antarctic Program says mortality in some elephant seal “harems” as high as 97%.
Ground and aerial surveys conducted in October 2025 and January 2026 counted 13,300 dead elephant seal pups. (Pic AFP)
The pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N1 has killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on a sub-Antarctic volcanic island, Australian scientists from the Antarctic Program discovered.
Australian researchers found the remote Heard and McDonald Islands littered with seal carcasses when they arrived on a research expedition in October 2025. Access to these tiny islands is allowed only with permission from the Australian government.
