Bird flu epidemic threatens wildlife: At least 40 species and populations are on the verge of extinction

The global avian influenza (H5N1) epidemic continues to have devastating effects on wildlife. Scientists stated that at least 40 bird species are under serious threat due to the virus and warned that the epidemic could bring some species to the brink of extinction.

HEAVY LOSS OF SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAS AND IUCN DECISION

One of the most severe effects of the epidemic was seen in southern elephant seals on South Georgia Island. More than 53 thousand female elephant seals will die from bird flu by 2025. This loss is of great significance for the island, which is home to more than half of the species' global breeding population. In some South Atlantic colonies, more than 90 percent of newborns and about half of adult females died.

Following the losses, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) raised the conservation status of the southern elephant seal from "least concern" to "vulnerable". This decision is a first for a species to be directly placed in a higher risk of extinction category due to the H5N1 pandemic.

ALARM WAS GIVEN FOR FOUR SPECIES

BirdLife International re-examined four species: the greater skua, the northern gannet, the Peruvian pelican and the Humboldt penguin, to better assess the effects of bird flu. While Scotland has more than half the world's population of great skuas, numbers in monitored colonies of these birds have fallen by 76 percent during 2021-2023.

Serious declines have also been recorded in breeding colonies of northern gannets. There was a 43 percent decrease in the Bass Rock colony in Scotland between 2021-2024, and a 47 percent decrease in Grassholm Island in Wales between 2015-2024. On the other hand, the discovery of approximately 3 thousand dead Humboldt penguins on the coast of Chile in 2023 was another development that worried scientists.

"NOT EVERY MASS DEATH MEANS DESTRUCTION"