Almost the entire population of baby southern sea elephants has died due to bird flu

According to researchers, a catastrophic spike in deaths among baby sea elephants took place last November. It is noted that their young are born between September and November and remain with their mother for the next three weeks.

Scientists obtained data from three zones on the territory of the Valdes Peninsula, which includes about 500 kilometres of coastline. The specialists found that 96 per cent of the cubs of this species in the areas studied died. According to scientists, about 18,000 new individuals were born in 2022, indicating that almost the entire young population has been lost.