Bird flu kills first Australian sea lion as virus spreads to endangered species
A rare Australian sea lion has died from H5N1 bird flu in Australia.
An Australian sea lion on Kangaroo Island has been confirmed dead from highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu, marking the first case for this species in Australia. The sea lion had been weakened by a recent shark attack before infection.
A second dead sea lion is being tested for the virus. Australian sea lions are the rarest pinniped breeding on Australian coasts, with fewer than 12,000 remaining.
These sea lions breed slowly, making even a limited outbreak potentially devastating for breeding colonies. The H5N1 strain circulating in Australia and New Zealand evolved around 2020 to infect mammals as well as birds.
Since 2021, it has caused mass deaths overseas: more than 17,000 southern elephant seal pups died in Argentina, and more than 13,000 pups were found dead on Heard Island.
Why it mattersThe arrival of H5N1 in Australia's most vulnerable sea lion species signals a new threat to marine mammal survival and signals the need for wildlife monitoring and outbreak prevention.
AustraliaAustralia's endangered sea lion population faces an emerging viral threat; Kangaroo Island colonies and other breeding sites may be at risk if the virus spreads.
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