First Polar Bear Death from Bird Flu

January 10, 2024

The unrelenting global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has now extended into polar bear populations at the planet’s farthest reaches after the first documented death of the vulnerable species from the virus late last year in northernmost Alaska.

The case likely resulted from the bear scavenging infected bird carcasses as the outbreak circulates through Arctic ecosystems. Its discovery follows infections detected months earlier thousands of miles away in Antarctic fur seals and other marine life.

Pandemic in Wildlife

Since emerging in 2021, the latest devastating H5N1 bird flu strain has killed an estimated tens of millions of wild birds while spreading to over 70 countries across mammals like foxes, bears, seals, and skunks.

Greatest Risks at the Poles

Fears are especially acute regarding entry of HPAI into remote polar ecosystems inhabited by numerous wildlife found nowhere else on Earth – leaving them immunologically naive and vulnerable.

Introduced by migratory birds arriving at ice-free summer breeding grounds, the virus has already infected Antarctic seals, penguins, and skuas, killing many. Experts worry continued circulation threatens the continent’s fragile biodiversity.

With polar regions also experiencing faster warming than most areas as climate change accelerates, their inhabitants face a precarious future from twin assault by both an unprecedented pathogen and environmental transformation.

An Ominous Warning

The starved polar bear found diseased by HPAI in northern Alaska likely precursor of additional mortality events still undetected across desolate Arctic terrain. Carcasses tend to go unnoticed outside small coastal villages.

But as birds disperse the virus to new turtle dove populations and other species, secondary spread to dependent predators and scavengers seems inevitable. The single tragic bear could presage greater calamities.

Protecting Antarctica’s Wildlife

As the outbreak marches toward the vulnerable Antarctic Peninsula this summer, scientists urge redoubling biosecurity to keep supplied stations virus-free while restricting tourism access to fragile breeding grounds.

An outbreak cascading through one million vulnerable penguins could cripple recovering food chains. And the disease has already surpassed early predictions of reaching Antarctica, highlighting how climate impacts may facilitate transmission.

With ecosystems fraying at both poles, the need for global coordination to control HPAI, curb emissions, and fund conservation science grows increasingly urgent before more iconic species follow that lone Alaskan bear.

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