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Thousands of baby seals died on two remote sub-Antarctic islands. Scientists now think they know why
CNN • • health
Key Points:
- A deadly strain of H5 bird flu has caused significant mortality among native wildlife on Heard and McDonald Islands near Antarctica, killing an estimated 13,000 seal pups, penguins, and seabirds.
- Drone surveys revealed a 76% mortality rate among southern elephant seal pups, with some areas experiencing up to 97% death rates, severely impacting the population of about 17,000 pups.
- Several hundred adult king penguins have also died, with mortality rates exceeding normal levels, marking the first detection of H5 bird flu in an Australian external territory.
- The virus likely spread eastward from the French sub-Antarctic Crozet Islands, arriving around August 2025, but as of February, no cases have been reported on the Australian mainland or New Zealand.
- Researchers are uncertain about the impact on the adult breeding population of southern elephant seals and continue to monitor the situation closely.
