Bird flu strikes California elephant seals for the first time
The Straits Times
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A lethal form of bird flu, which has already killed tens of thousands of elephant seals in the Southern Hemisphere, is now spreading in a colony of elephant seals in California, scientists announced on Feb 25.
Seven elephant seal pups at Año Nuevo State Park have tested positive for the virus, known as H5N1, becoming the first recorded cases in northern elephant seals.
They are among about 30 seals that have died at the park since late last week and the first to have been tested, said Dr Roxanne Beltran, an ecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who leads a long-term monitoring project on the seals.
Results on the other suspected cases, all but one of which have involved weaned pups, are still pending.
Roughly 5,000 elephant seals crowd onto the beaches at Año Nuevo State Park every winter to breed and give birth.
They are a popular tourist attraction at the park, which has closed its seal-viewing areas and cancelled its elephant seal tours for the rest of the season.
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