Bird flu was found in penguins near Antarctica, 200 chicks died in huge penguin colonies in Antarctica.
Bird flu was found in penguins near Antarctica, 200 chicks died in huge penguin colonies in Antarctica.
On January 19, scientists found about 35 penguins dead on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Samples taken from the two dead penguins tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu, said Ralph Vanstreels, a veterinarian working with SCAR.
The government of the Falkland Islands told Reuters that many other Gentos had died in similar circumstances. As of January 30, “more than 200 hatchlings have died and a handful of adults,” said government spokeswoman Sally Heathman.
The deaths confirm that gentoo penguins are susceptible to a deadly disease that has decimated bird populations around the world in recent months. Gentoos, on the other hand, rarely travel between the Falkland Islands, off the coast of Argentina, and the Antarctic Peninsula, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) to the south.
This means that traveling penguins are unlikely to promote the spread to the southern continent, said Vanstreels, a researcher at the University of California-Davis.
“Instead, the role of gentoo penguins could be as local reservoirs of infection,” he said. “In other words, to maintain receptive hosts who never leave the islands.”
Heathman said the Falkland Islands government is also awaiting the results of rock penguin testing and is preparing for a full-scale outbreak.
In the nearby state of South Georgia, officials ruled out a report of suspected bird flu in king penguins after a detailed survey of the area, said Meagan Dewar, who heads SCAR’s Antarctic Wildlife Health Network.
Hundreds of thousands of penguins gather in densely packed colonies on the Antarctic continent and nearby islands, which could allow the deadly virus to be easily transmitted between individuals.
Conservationists are more concerned about other species, Vanstreels said. Elephant seals and fur seals have died from bird flu in South Georgia in higher numbers after mass casualties of those species in South America.
“This is of particular concern, as South Georgia is home to 95 percent of the world’s Antarctic otters. If the population collapses, the species is in a critical situation,” he said..
