More than 13,000 seal pups die on remote Australian island amid bird flu outbreak (opens original article in a new tab)

Over 13,000 seal pups died on an Australian subantarctic island due to a H5N1 bird flu outbreak, with high mortality rates observed across multiple species.

• More than 13,000 seal pups died on Heard Island due to H5N1 bird flu outbreak
• High mortality rates of 76% across the island and up to 97% in some areas
• H5N1 virus spread to six of nine species on Heard Island, including penguins and seals