Map › Crises A-Z › animals
H5N1 bird flu devastates elephant seals on Península Valdés
Península Valdés hosts the only continental southern elephant seal breeding colony outside Antarctica, which an H5N1 avian influenza epidemic struck in 2023.
Open on the interactive globeAbout 17,500 pups, roughly 97 percent of those born in the colony, died in the 2023 season. Breeding females on the most densely used beaches fell by 67 percent, from 6,938 in 2022 to 2,256 in 2024 (WCS Argentina, CONICET, UC Davis). Models published in 2025 suggest that recovery to 2022 numbers (18,000 females) could take up to 100 years, especially if outbreaks recur.
Numbers with sources
| Value | As of | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animals affected | 17,500 | August 2025 | news.mongabay.com |
Species
| Species | IUCN status | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirounga leonina Mirounga leonina | vulnerable (IUCN VU) | (2024) | newsroom.wcs.org |
Needs
- veterinary care
- habitat
Who is helping
Organisations that, according to their own publications, work on this event (1). Donations go directly to each organisation's own website - GLOBURNS does not handle payments.
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)WCS protects wildlife and wild places through field programmes worldwide and zoos in New York. In the DRC it supports Kahuzi-Biega National Park, the Okapi Wildlife…Donate on the organisation's website (secure.wcs.org)
Sources
- newsroom.wcs.org newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/24329/Avian-Influenza-Is…
- news.mongabay.com news.mongabay.com/2025/08/argentinas-elephant-seals-face-100-year-recovery-after-avian-fl…
- cidrap.umn.edu cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/avian-flu-has-decimated-worlds-largest-breeding-c…
- argentina.wcs.org argentina.wcs.org/en-us/Wildlife/Southern-Elephant-Seal.aspx
- en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_elephant_seal
Seed record, before editorial verification. Every number links to its source; report errors on the Corrections page. Methodology · Corrections
Other events in this category
- The last two northern white rhinos at Ol Pejeta East Africa, Kenya
- Vaquita on the brink of extinction in the Gulf of California North America, Gulf of California
- Huemul, the endangered Andean deer of Patagonia South America, Patagonian Andes (Chile and Argentina)
- River dolphin die-offs in Amazon droughts South America, central Amazon (Tefé, Coari)
- Harbour porpoise in the Baltic Proper Northern Europe, Baltic Sea
- Tapanuli orangutan after the Sumatra floods Southeast Asia, North Sumatra
- Emperor penguin endangered by early break-up of fast ice Antarctica (East Antarctica, Mawson station area)
- H5N1 bird flu in the Southern Ocean - elephant seal die-off on Heard Island Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic islands (Heard Island, South Georgia, Macquarie)