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. So, we’d hate to see him get the flu,” Murrell, the president of the Southwest Environment Alliance, a coalition of local environment groups, said.
The male southern elephant seal had “kind of adopted the town”, frequenting the foreshore and port, and sometimes the community gardens. In recent weeks, the seal has been spotted near birds presumed to have died from H5N1. Victoria’s first bird flu case was detected in the town, in the far south-west of the state, at the end of July.
Since then, the area has become a hotspot, with 17 confirmed events in crested terns, magpies, silver gulls and ravens, according to the federal agriculture department, and many more suspected cases. People were concerned about the carcasses, and the risk of the virus spreading as a result of scavengers eating them. Some have estimated 30 to 40 new sick and dying birds on the beach a day.
A spokesperson for Glenelg shire council said the situation was distressing for many in the community. They said the state government’s advice was to leave the dead birds in place, although council had begun removing some where “unacceptable public amenity or safety risks have been identified”. Prof Rob Harcourt, at Macquarie University, said elephant seals like Sammy were “characters” and “the most gregarious animals you’ve ever seen”, which explained why communities named them.
Along with Sammy, a regular visitor to Portland, and Neil in Tasmania, many others had gained notoriety, including Humphrey, a three-tonne celebrity who frequented New Zealand coastal towns in the 1980s. Southern elephant seals breed in large colonies, especially on Macquarie Island, Harcourt said. But because they’re so large and need a lot of food, they disperse widely to feed, migrating over 1,000 kilometres.
They’re strong swimmers, but on land they “move along like caterpillars,” he said. Seals and sea lions often share spaces with wild birds, placing them at risk of infection from H5 bird flu. In Victoria, more than 100 marine mammals have been reported to the emergency animal disease hotline this month, although none so far have been confirmed as positive cases.
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