Since 2021, an outbreak of fowl flu has swept the globe. Since then, this contagious illness is believed to have killed 1000’s of untamed birds and different animals.
Just lately, fowl flu was confirmed to have killed a Polar Bear in Alaska. The bear’s dying exhibits that the illness has unfold to probably the most distant areas of the planet the place animal populations are poorly outfitted to deal with the virus.
Chook flu was first recognized in China in 1996. It is usually referred to as H5N1. A contagious illness, fowl flu is a variant of the influenza virus. Though it primarily impacts birds, notably wild birds, it has been identified to contaminate people and different mammals.
Usually, outbreaks of fowl flu are seasonal. Nonetheless, the present pressure of H5N1 has turn into persistent. It has additionally advanced to contaminate a number of totally different species. This pressure has been confirmed to be circulating in Asia, Europe, and North America.
In December of 2023, Alaskan wildlife officers confirmed {that a} Polar Bear in northern Alaska had died of fowl flu. The bear possible contracted the virus after scavenging and consuming carcasses of contaminated birds.
The dying of this Alaskan Polar Bear is the primary confirmed dying of a Polar Bear from fowl flu wherever on the earth, in response to an announcement given by Dr. Bob Gerlach to the Alaska Beacon. Nonetheless bears from different species, together with black and brown bears, have died from fowl flu.
The dying of the Polar Bear exhibits that fowl flu has unfold to probably the most distant areas of the world. Circumstances of fowl flu have additionally been discovered within the Antarctic area.
Animals within the Antarctic had beforehand been unexposed to the illness, prompting concern over the influence it could have on their already susceptible populations.
Polar Bears are listed as a susceptible species by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature. Lack of sea ice is the principle concern going through the massive bear species.
The bears hunt and mate on the ice. Nonetheless, sea ice is quickly melting because of Local weather change. That is making it more and more troublesome for Polar Bears to outlive.
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This text by Willow Lynn was first printed by One Inexperienced Planet on 5 January 2024. Picture Credit score: Popova Valeriya/Shutterstock