Australia has just 12,000 sea lions left – and ‘carnage’ may await them as bird flu takes hold, scientists warn

A fur seal on Kangaroo Island.

A second suspected case of bird flu in the mammals has been found after the South Australian government confirmed the first case last week.

JACCOD/De Agostini/Getty Images A fur seal on Kangaroo Island.

JACCOD/De Agostini/Getty Images Australia has just 12,000 sea lions left – and ‘carnage’ may await them as bird flu takes hold, scientists warn Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in pinnipeds in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pups Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Scientists have warned deadly H5 bird flu could cause “carnage” for Australia’s seal and sea lion populations after detection of the virus in long-nosed fur seals in South Australia.

SA confirmed Australia’s first case in a mammal on Saturday after a dead long-nosed fur seal found at Beachport on the Limestone Coast tested positive for H5N1.

The state government announced a second suspected case on Monday in a dead long-nosed fur seal found on the Pages Islands, off Kangaroo Island, with results from CSIRO testing pending.

Leading mammal scientist John Woinarski, of Charles Darwin University, said he feared the virus would quickly start affecting more seals and sea lions.

“The carnage may be substantial and represent a serious conservation impact,” he said.

“I fear for Australian sea lions in particular because of their small population size.