Bird Flu Reaches California’s Northern Elephant Seals

Seven newly weaned northern elephant seal pups at Año Nuevo in California tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), marking the first confirmed cases in the state’s elephant seals amid a global surge. Public risk remains low, but authorities are intensifying surveillance, closing seal-viewing areas, and coordinating across agencies to track spread and origins. The outbreak echoes 2023’s severe die-off among southern elephant seals in Argentina and underscores how climate change and migratory shifts can facilitate cross-species transmission, with potential long-term impacts on marine mammal populations and broader ecosystems.