Fears for ‘gregarious’ local celebrity Sammy the elephant seal in Victorian bird flu hotspot

Sammy, a male southern elephant seal, frequents the Portland foreshore and port, and sometimes the community gardens. In recent weeks, the seal has been spotted near birds presumed to have died from H5N1. Photograph: Michelle Crilly

Since H5 bird flu arrived in Portland, Victoria, the situation has been “pretty grim” with many dead and suffering birds on the beach, and the dilemma of how to dispose of the carcasses, according to local resident Lynn Murrell.

But since the first confirmed case in a fur seal on Sunday at Beachport, South Australia – a two-hour trip over the border – people have been worried for their local “pet seal”, known as Sammy.