Bird flu: Elephant seals on Patagonia's coast worry experts

Bird flu is rampant, killing millions of birds. Dead elephant seals on Patagonia's coast could now represent a new dimension. More than 95 percent of newly born animals died by the end of 2023.

DUnklein little hills on the beach in Patagonia, sand blowing over them. It's not a pretty sight because the hills are filled with dead animals, baby elephant seals. The more than 300 kilometer long coast of Patagonia, where elephant seals raise their offspring in the summer months of the southern hemisphere – there were around 18,000 young animals in 2022 – is orphaned.

“More than 95 percent of newborn southern elephant seals born on the coast of Patagonia have died by the end of 2023,” says Chris Walzer, director of health at the World Conservation Society.