Fears for elephant seals as bird flu kills half of population in South Atlantic

Female elephant seals on St Andrews Bay, South Georgia, which is home to more than half of the breeding population. Bird flu is spreading in the Antarctic. Photograph: P Gislimberti/Alamy

Bird flu has wiped out half of South Georgia’s breeding elephant seals, according to a study that warns of “serious implications” for the future of the species.

The remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean is home to the world’s largest southern elephant seal population. Researchers estimate 53,000 females died after bird flu hit in 2023.