Parks officials in California have cancelled popular guided elephant seal tours for the remainder of the season and temporarily closed public viewing areas following a recent outbreak of bird flu at a state park. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5756505-avian-flu-detected-elephant-seals/
The outbreak marks the first cases of avian flu found in marine mammals in California and the first detection in northern elephant seals, researchers noted.
A帽o Nuevo State Park, located just north of Santa Cruz, is home to one of the largest elephant seal colonies in North America, with roughly 5,000 seals making their way there during the winter breeding season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Researchers have been closely monitoring the colony for decades, surveillance that has increased since a 2023 outbreak in Argentina decimated the population, killing more than 17,000 elephant seals, including nearly all pups.
