2024-01-04 19:53:09
A polar bear has died in Alaska following contracting bird flu, which is believed to be spreading rapidly among some animals living in the most remote regions of the planet.
The mammal’s death was confirmed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in early December.
“This is the first reported case of a polar bear anywhere,” Alaska State Veterinarian Dr. Bob Gerlach said a few days ago. Alaska Beacon.
The polar bear was discovered near Utqiagvik, in the north of the US state. According to the veterinarian, the mammal probably fed on the carcasses of infected birds.
“If a bird dies from this disease, especially if it is kept in a cold environment, the virus can persist for some time in the environment,” Dr. Gerlach told the media.
According to the expert, it is not impossible that other polar bears died from the H1N1 virus without anyone noticing. “You really depend on the public being there or the wildlife biologists doing monitoring,” he explained.
In Alaska, at least three foxes, a black bear and a brown bear have also died due to avian flu since 2022, according to ministry data.
For her part, Emeritus Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of East Anglia, Diana Bell, told the Guardian that she was not surprised by this news which she finds “horrifying”.
“Over the past two years, the list of mammals killed has become enormous. The disease has killed so many predatory and scavenging mammals that it is no longer just a poultry disease,” she told the British daily.
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