Bird Flu's Deadly Touch Has Now Reached Polar Bears

The "unprecedented" behavior of H5N1, the highly pathogenic avian influenza that has been causing a global outbreak since 2020, has become even more so. The New York Times reports the strain has been found in a dead polar bear in far northern Alaska. It signifies the first known case in the species and yet another type of mammal that has been infected, joining a list that includes red foxes, brown and black bears, skunks, mountain lions, and sea lions. The Times notes that among wild mammals, South American sea lions are the only group to have suffered mass casualties due to the virus, but Alaska state veterinarian Dr. Bob Gerlach says the news is still concerning due to the polar bear's fragile state.

The Anchorage Daily News reports the polar bear was found dead in October near Utqiagvik, the northernmost community in the US. Tissue sample testing confirmed the virus was present in a number of its organs. "This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere," says Gerlach, who suspects the bear became infected while scavenging on infected dead birds. "It's been in Antarctica and now it's in the high Arctic in mammals—it's horrifying," Diana Bell, emeritus professor of conservation biology at the University of East Anglia, tells the Guardian. The virus, which spread to North America in 2021 and has killed millions of wild birds and poultry, has now hit every continent except for Australia. (More bird flu stories.)