Anonymous21 days ago
A highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreak at Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County, California has killed at least 47 elephant seals on mainland beaches and spread to sea otters and sea lions — marking the first confirmed bird flu infections in northern elephant seals and the first marine mammal H5N1 cases in California. Researchers from UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis are racing to contain the outbreak while monitoring other major seal colonies along the coast, haunted by precedents in South America where H5N1 killed over 17,000 elephant seal pups and 30,000 sea lions.