Scientists: Bird flu has also affected seals, their numbers are declining

Scientists warn that seals have been devastated by bird flu, citing a significant decline in their population on an island near Antarctica.

Since bird flu hit South Georgia in 2023, the number of breeding-age seals on the island's beaches has dropped by 47%, or 53,000 fewer seals, according to a study published in the journal Communications Biology.

This isolated island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Antarctica is the main habitat for elephant seals in the southern seas.

Bird flu has reached South Georgia after spreading around the world, killing hundreds of millions of birds. It has also infected many species of mammals.

Researchers believe the virus spreads to seals from droplets in the water. Although seals spend most of their lives at sea, they breed on land, on sandy beaches where they congregate in their thousands.

Scientists say the future is bleak for harbor seals, although researchers do not believe they are in danger of extinction./CNA

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