Seals

Mysterious mass death of Baikal earless seals puzzles scientists (VIDEO)

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– Mysterious mass death of Baikal earless seals puzzles scientists (VIDEO):

Dozens of dead Baikal earless seals have been found on the shores of the world’s deepest lake in the last six days. While an epidemic has been ruled out, lab samples haven’t shown conclusively what led to the mysterious mass deaths.

The government of the Siberian region of Irkutsk said that starting October29, the bodies of 141 dead Baikal earless seals had been recovered and a special commission to look into the causes of death had been launched. All the bodies belonged to adult animals, with 80 percent of them being pregnant females, the statement added. Initially, the Russian Environmental Ministry excluded the human factor, saying natural causes were to blame.

Lab research did not reveal any abnormality, infectious diseases or parasites in the 31 collected samples. To see whether toxins triggered the deaths, researchers will need to carry out a molecular probe.

Read moreMysterious mass death of Baikal earless seals puzzles scientists (VIDEO)

Officials: “Such a bizarre thing” off California coast — “We’re seeing multiple aborted fetuses every day” — 100,000s of seabirds that nest in area now missing… “Huge, unprecedented die-off like we’ve never seen” — Many baby seals dying after mothers led them to a cliff edge… “Brutal to watch”

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– Officials: “Such a bizarre thing” off California coast — “We’re seeing multiple aborted fetuses every day” — 100,000s of seabirds that nest in area now missing… “Huge, unprecedented die-off like we’ve never seen” — Many baby seals dying after mothers led them to a cliff edge… “Brutal to watch” (AUDIO) (ENENews, April 9, 2015):

KQED Science, Apr 5, 2015 (emphasis added): About thirty miles out from the Golden Gate, the federally protected Farallones are breeding grounds visited by hundreds of thousands of seabirds – many of which use the islands as a  winter way station — but not this year. Gerry McChesney, manager of the site for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says that’s a bad sign not just for the Farallon Islands but also for wildlife more broadly along California’s coast. There was also hardship for breeding marine mammals. Dozens of pregnant sea lions proved too weak to carry their pups to term “That’s such a bizarre thing,” McChesney says. “We were seeing multiple aborted fetuses every day,” 94 in total – or nearly half the number of sea lions born there in 2014. Nor was the warm winter kind to elephant seal pups. Russ Bradley, Farallon program manager for Point Blue Conservation Science, says elephant seal mothers, trying to cool off amid the unusual heat, led their pups up to a cliff that, while breezy, proved perilous – “and actually had a fair amount of pups fall into this sea channel, because they’re pups and they’re clumsy and they got too close to the edge.” “It is pretty brutal for the biologists out here that had to watch it,” McChesney says. “It was pretty tough.” Among the conspicuously absent birds was a type called Cassin’s Auklet, which feeds on krill. All along the Pacific coast, McChesney says, these birds have been suffering “a huge, unprecedented die-off like we’ve never seen” for want of food. That’s also bad news for other species that eat krill, he says, from salmon to blue whales.

Read moreOfficials: “Such a bizarre thing” off California coast — “We’re seeing multiple aborted fetuses every day” — 100,000s of seabirds that nest in area now missing… “Huge, unprecedented die-off like we’ve never seen” — Many baby seals dying after mothers led them to a cliff edge… “Brutal to watch”

‘Mystery disease’ on Pacific coast of Alaska – Livers ‘crumble’… Hearts enlarged, pale… Yellow lymph nodes… Blood-filled lungs (PHOTOS) – Testing carcasses for Fukushima radioactivity

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seal_organs

– ‘Mystery disease’ on Pacific coast of Alaska — Livers ‘crumble’… Hearts enlarged, pale… Yellow lymph nodes… Blood-filled lungs (PHOTOS) — Professor: Worrying there’s no answers, big public health concern — Testing carcasses for Fukushima radioactivity (AUDIO)

KNOM, May 14, 2014: Mysterious illness that’s been plaguing seals [first hit] the Bering Strait and the North Slope starting in the summer of 2011. Up to 300 seals were found suffering from hair loss, skin sores, and unusually lethargic behavior. Dozens of walruses were also found with similar sores [causing] marine mammal regulators to declare an Unusual Mortality Event […] walrus have been taken off the UME […] Seals [are still] displaying hair loss […] University of Alaska Fairbanks have begun testing infected seal carcasses for [Fukushima] radiation […] Results should be released in July.

Gay Sheffield, University of Alaska Fairbanks: The lack of answers is worrying. “This has been a big food security, public health concern.”

NOAA (pdf), May 12, 2014: UME will remain open for ice seals (ringed seals, ribbon seals, bearded seals, spotted seals) — based on continued reports of […] disease symptoms

Read more‘Mystery disease’ on Pacific coast of Alaska – Livers ‘crumble’… Hearts enlarged, pale… Yellow lymph nodes… Blood-filled lungs (PHOTOS) – Testing carcasses for Fukushima radioactivity

Over 50 dead seals, sea lions, whales, walrus recently stranded in Alaska – Experts: ‘Marine transported Fukushima radionuclides… may represent a new stressor to ecosystem’

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– Over 50 dead seals, sea lions, whales, walrus recently stranded in Alaska — Dozens of seals suffering from baldness, skin sores — Experts: “Marine transported Fukushima radionuclides… may represent a new stressor to ecosystem” (ENENews, May 6, 2014):

Poster for Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Jan. 20, 2014: Based on modeled radionuclide concentrations the dose to Northern Pinnipeds on ice was less than the ERICA risk assessment no-effects level of 10 uGy/hr with the following caveats: 1) Source terms for the Fukushima nuclear accident release vary greatly creating uncertainty in the models. 2) Knowledge gaps exist on extrapolating radiation dose to marine mammals. 3) Exposure to hot particles was not addressed. 4) Cannot rule out that increased radiological exposure in combination with a mixture of other contaminants represented an immunotoxic and thyroid disease risk during the period the animals were living on the ice. 5) Ionizing radiation associated risk for skin defects (i.e. epilation, skin lesions) due to contact and external exposure can also not be excluded. *Marine transported Fukushima radionuclides entering the Bering and Chukchi Seas in the future may represent a new stressor to the ecosystem.

Read moreOver 50 dead seals, sea lions, whales, walrus recently stranded in Alaska – Experts: ‘Marine transported Fukushima radionuclides… may represent a new stressor to ecosystem’

Record Numbers Of Seals & Sea Lions ‘Starving To Death’ Along California Coast – ‘So Many Unhealthy … Washing Ashore’

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– Alarm as record numbers of seals & sea lions ‘starving to death’ along California coast — “It’s just spiked… calls started coming nonstop” — “So many unhealthy… washing ashore” — “Extremely complex issue… multitude of factors in play” — “Definitely a mystery, we’re hoping it’s not the new norm” (ENENews, May 4, 2014):

Orange County Register, May 2, 2014: Sea lions are […] washing ashore, many of them pups dehydrated, malnourished and on the brink of death. The year started off quieter than last year, and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center’s director of development, Melissa Sciacca, thought they were in the clear – until about a month ago, when the calls started coming in nonstop. […] “We thought it was going to be a nice calm year; in the last month it’s just spiked,” she said. “The rescues just keep coming in at a steady pace.” It’s the second year stranded sea lions have been reported in alarming numbers. […] Last year, scientists tested for radioactivity, and it was determined that wasn’t the cause, and infectious disease was also ruled out.

Read moreRecord Numbers Of Seals & Sea Lions ‘Starving To Death’ Along California Coast – ‘So Many Unhealthy … Washing Ashore’

Mysterious Disease Killing Seals Along US East Coast

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– Radio: Mysterious disease killing seals along US East Coast — Fukushima radiation testing underway by gov’t scientists — “Never seen anything like this before” (AUDIO) (ENENews, Sep 1, 2012):

Title: Bird Flu Not Responsible For Alaska Ice Seal, Walrus Illness
Source: KNOM Alaska
Author: Laureli Kinneen
Date: August 1, 2012

Scientists say a type of bird flu – H3N8 – is responsible for the death of the more than 160 harbor seals on the East Coast [New England area, from Maine to Massachusetts]. Reports of sick seals began in September, which coincided with the reports of diseased seals in Alaska’s northern coasts. KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen reports there is no relation between the avian flu on the East Coast and the disease affecting iced seals and walrus in Alaska.

Transcript Excerpt

Kinneen: Based on hunter observation, it is a new disease syndrome that we are observing, because based on traditional knowledge, as well as communication from the hunters, they had never seen anything like this before.

The researchers have not ruled out the radiation released from the Fukushima nuclear accident as the cause […]

[Dr. Raphaela Stimmelmayr, a wildlife veterinarian and research biologist with the Department of Wildlife Management, has been one of the leading professionals trying learn more about what is happening to the seals] says they are now looking at whether the diseased seals carried cesium-134 and -137 […]

Cesium-134 is the signature radionuclide that was released during the Fukushima accident.

Read moreMysterious Disease Killing Seals Along US East Coast

Canada: Hundreds of Dead Seals Have Been Washing Ashore In Labrador

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A young seal on a beach near the southern Labrador community of L’Anse au Clair in early January. (Courtesy: Derrick Letto)

People on the north coast of Labrador say scores of dead seals have been washing ashore since early December.

A conservation officer with the area’s Inuit government estimated late last week that hundreds of adult and young seals have died in the area between Hopedale and Makkovik this winter.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is testing the carcasses, but Nunatsiavut conservation officer Ian Winters said many people in the area believe DFO hasn’t acted quickly enough.

“I think they should have been up here earlier, if you’re asking me. A lot of people said the same thing. So, maybe it’s not on top of their agenda,” he said.

Read moreCanada: Hundreds of Dead Seals Have Been Washing Ashore In Labrador