2023-10-13 19:46:00
The dangerous H5N1 virus has also reached the remote archipelago in the Pacific. Now experts are not just worried about rare bird species.
Around 1,000 kilometers of water separate the Galapagos Islands from the South American mainland, but even the vast Pacific cannot offer any protection against the currently rampant bird flu. The H5N1 virus has also reached the remote ocean archipelago and is endangering the unique wildlife there.
Most recently, dozens of birds died on the uninhabited islands of Genovesa and Wolf, and the virus was detected in at least three red-footed boobies. “This is a very dangerous situation, not just for the seabirds, but for the sea lions,” Galapagos National Park director Danny Rueda said in a radio interview.
Red-footed boobies only feed on a few species of fish, which are currently only found in remote areas due to the high water temperatures caused by the El Niño phenomenon. “We assume that the animals traveled far from the Galapagos Islands in search of food and became infected there from migratory birds,” said Rueda.
The Galapagos Islands belong to Ecuador. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978. The endemic species that only exist there include marine iguanas, land iguanas and Darwin’s finches. In 1835, the evolutionary researcher Charles Darwin visited the islands and became interested in their bird life.
The largest wave of bird flu ever documented is currently raging across several continents. The pathogen primarily affects birds, but has recently been found sporadically in several mammals such as raccoons, foxes and martens. In South America, thousands of seals and sea lions have already fallen victim to the virus.
“The greatest danger is probably for populations that only exist there and that are not very large,” said the head of the Institute for Virus Diagnostics at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) in Greifswald, Martin Beer, to the German Press Agency. According to previous experience, waterfowl and species that come into contact with them are particularly at risk. Songbirds, however, are less affected. This means there is at least hope for the famous Darwin finches. In his opinion, these are “not at risk on the front line,” said Beer.
Although diseases are not a common cause of the extinction of species, the journal “Science” quoted virologist Thijs Kuiken from the Erasmus University Rotterdam. However, infectious pathogens could push small populations to the brink of extinction. The risk is higher for species that only occur in one place, such as the Galapagos lava gull – the rarest seagull in the world with only 300 breeding pairs. The Galapagos penguin also only occurs on the islands – it is related to the Humboldt penguin. In South America, many specimens died of bird flu.
To prevent further spread of bird flu in the archipelago, local authorities have closed six visitor sites to tourists. In addition, travel providers were asked to regularly disinfect their guests’ shoes and clothing. “You can’t really do anything more than general biosecurity measures and regional access controls because the virus is transmitted by wild birds,” said Beer. An expansion into Antarctica, where breeding grounds for up to 100 million seabirds lie, would be even more dramatic.
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