Wildlife

Migrating birds have returned to Alaska, and so has the highly pathogenic avian influenza that began to sweep through global bird populations in 2020.

That means Alaskans should continue to be vigilant about the strains that have arrived in the state from across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, experts said during a webinar Tuesday hosted by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Symposium’s Local Environmental Observer Network.

Alaska’s geographic position, at a point on the globe where different avian flyways converge, makes it a transmission zone for separate strains from both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

“Alaska’s in a unique position for a mixing of viruses from Asia and North America,” said January Frost of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

This influenza wave appears to pose only minute risks to people. So far, there have been only a handful of human cases globally, and those were among people working closely with poultry, said Andy Ramey, a wildlife geneticist and avian influenza expert with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Science Center.

But for wild birds and other wild animals, it has proved a dangerous illness. Along with the 58 million domestic chickens and other poultry birds lost to the virus in the United States, nearly 7,000 wild birds have died. That is in addition to various mammals like foxes, coyotes, skunks and bears, according to the latest tally.

The effects on wild birds make the outbreak much different from other versions of avian influenza, Ramey and Frost said.

“A few years ago, high-path avian influenza was a poultry disease. And for whatever reason, this high-path avian influenza, these recent strains, have become really well-adapted to wild birds,” Ramey said, referring to high-pathogen viruses. “We’re really in uncharted waters, so to speak.”

In the past, he said, it was assumed that outbreaks would be confined to poultry and would die out there, he said. “I don’t know if that still holds true,” he said.

In Alaska, the documented case count is 232 wild birds, three foxes and two bears as of early this week, Ramey said. Those are cases of animals that were found dead or dying, with confirmation in laboratories of highly pathogenic avian influenza infections.

That means the cases represent only a small fraction of the effects in the wild, Ramey said, as most cases likely go unnoticed and unreported by people.

It is common for wild birds to carry numerous influenza viruses, usually of the low-pathogenic variety, according to the USGS. Less common are highly pathogenic viruses, so categorized because they are transmitted easily within domestic poultry flocks; they are of concern because they can kill large amounts of poultry and therefore have significant economic consequences. Until now, highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses have not been much of an issue for the health of wild birds, even though they are carriers and can transmit viruses between continents.

For wild birds, the danger of the current influenza is that vulnerable populations could suffer significant losses. This spring, for example, several California condors were killed by the virus. For a critically endangered population numbering only about 560, the loss of several birds was seen as alarming enough to prompt the U.S. Department of Agriculture to start a flu-vaccination program for the birds.

In Alaska, the birds most commonly found to be victims of this influenza are waterfowl. The top species with documented cases are mallards, bald eagles, ravens, northern pintails, glaucous gulls, American green-winged teals, Canada geese, American wigeons, brant and Sabine’s gulls, Ramey and Frost said in their presentation.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s running tally of confirmed avian influenza infections does not list any birds with Endangered Species Act protections. However, there have been suspected cases among spectacled and Steller’s eiders, and both species are listed as threatened.

There have been no documented cases of avian influenza in Alaska marine mammals, but there have been elsewhere. For example, avian influenza was linked to a die-off last year of several harbor seals and gray seals in Maine.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is monitoring Alaska marine mammals for signs of influenza, Ramey said.

There are recommended precautions for Alaska bird hunters, even though this virus has rarely been transmitted to people. They should wear protective gear, clean knives and surfaces that come in contact with birds and take other measures, including cooking all meat and eggs to internal temperatures of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

That last guideline may represent a departure from usual operations in parts of Alaska, Frost said.

“I know it may not be the typical way that people cook their food or eat their eggs, but in order to be as safe as possible, this is what is recommended,” she said.

This story originally appeared in the Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission.

The Alaska Zoo is nearly at capacity for housing orphaned animals. In late May, the zoo welcomed a very talkative brown bear cub nicknamed Gator from Hood Bay, near Angoon. Six moose calves followed soon after, each nicknamed after Australian wildlife: Kangaroo, Mouse, Wombat, Echidna, Emu and Wallaby.

“From this time on up through July is when we’re usually busiest in receiving orphaned animals,” said the zoo’s executive director, Pat Lampi.

The zoo is also hosting Grubby the opossum, who hitched a ride from Washington to Homer in a shipping container this spring. Although she’s now out of the wild, biologists are still trying to catch a litter of her offspring born before her capture late last month.

Lampi said the number of orphans the zoo can foster is decided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and depends on how many permanent homes are available that year.

The zoo doesn’t keep the orphans it takes in. The staff’s focus is on rehabilitating the animals, which often arrive emaciated or in poor health. Once they’re healthy the zoo works with Fish and Game to place them, usually at zoos in the Lower 48. Lampi said they’ve sent orphans to zoos all across the United States.

“It’s not the ideal situation because they’re not in the wild, but these animals can be saved,” he said. “They can be ambassadors for their species and do a lot of really good education and conservation work.”

But transporting animals can be tricky. They’re usually sent on cargo flights with multiple attendants. They need permits, medical records and health certificates.

In the meantime, the orphans are on public view at the Alaska Zoo – Gator the bear in the orphaned cub facility, and the moose calves right next door in the infirmary yard.

In the wild, Lampi said it’s important not to assume a young animal is orphaned just because it’s alone. Many species will leave their babies to go foraging.

“It’s best not to interfere,” he said. “You contact somebody with Fish and Game and let them know where it is and then let them make sure it’s really an orphan and that, out of the goodness of your heart, you’re not creating the orphan yourself.”

The zoo took in an orphaned polar bear cub named Kova in November, who was found living under a building by a dumpster in Prudhoe Bay. She was placed under rabies quarantine protocol for six months, which ended May 30. Kova made her first public appearance at the zoo on Sunday.

On Saturday, a group of ten kayakers set out from Strawberry Point in Yakutat for a grassy, log strewn spit of sand known as Blacksand Spit. Most of them were birders, and most were visiting from other parts of the state or the country to see the uncommon Aleutian tern, a seabird species known for its long migration and potential decline in the last several decades.

The visitors were in town for the Yakutat Tern Festival, which honors the Aleutian tern as well as its better known and more abundant cousin, the Arctic tern. Blacksand Spit is the largest and southernmost known nesting colony for Aleutian terns. The group crossed it in a single file, to avoid disturbing nests, and trained their binoculars on the sky as hundreds of terns wheeled over the Gulf of Alaska.

The Aleutian tern is now the subject of a multiyear population study, organized by the Pacific Seabird Group’s Aleutian Tern Technical Committee. Anecdotal evidence and limited data strongly suggest the terns’ population has decreased substantially over the last few decades, and there simply isn’t enough research to determine whether they need protected status or not.

Susan Oehlers, Yakutat’s sole wildlife biologist for the National Forest Service, is responsible for monitoring the Aleutian tern population at Blacksand Spit and she co-chairs the technical committee behind the study.

“I feel like it’s my responsibility living here and being the local wildlife biologist to do what I can to learn more about them and try to be a good steward,” she said.

Her group worked to create the statewide survey and monitoring plan that was implemented this year.

“What we built towards was getting better, consistent methods of surveying a colony, so everyone that’s monitoring turns is doing it the same way,” she said.

Oehlers gave an Aleutian tern update at the festival, which started in 2017 as an economic driver for the town of about 500 people and to raise awareness for terns.

The festival and now the study are timed around the nesting season for terns. Peak hatch is usually in early July.

Anne Schaefer of Prince William Sound Science Center coordinates the study for the Pacific Seabird Group.

“There’s something going on with these terns,” Schaefer said. “But what we don’t know is — are the numbers actually declining? Or do we just not know where their colonies are? You know, have they just moved?”

Her team conducts aerial surveys primarily along the coastline. This year, the study will survey the area from Cordova to Gustavus.

It’s hard to tell the difference between Arctic and Aleutian terns from the air, so they log any nesting colonies and then return on foot to make sure Aleutian terns are present and conduct a count. Field work just started and they have logged more than two dozen colonies.

Seabirds are dependent on the marine environment, so Schaefer says she hopes to gain some insight into what’s happening in the marine ecosystem as a result of the study.

“There’s a lot of different things that could be happening, but there hasn’t been any pinpointed problem,” she said. “I think we’re really just trying to understand like, are they declining?”

This story originally appeared in the Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission.

State biologists are continuing their efforts in Homer to catch offspring of Grubby the opossum, with three more members of her litter captured as of Tuesday.

The now-infamous Grubby, an opossum from Washington that made its way to Homer in a shipping container, was caught late last month and sent to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage.

But to the chagrin of area biologists and the Department of Fish and Game, Grubby made landfall carrying offspring.

Jason Herreman, with the Department of Fish and Game, said a male opossum three to four months old was captured near Homer City Hall on Thursday. As of Tuesday morning, a fourth young opossum — another male — had been captured. At least one more of Grubby’s spawn remained at large.

Herreman said the small marsupials, referred to as joeys, will be out foraging for food and shelter.

“They’re going to try to find food sources, and places with shelter,” Herreman said. “Shelter areas will be under houses, sheds, any kind of little hole where they can make a burrow. And then food sources, where people have trash outside, if they leave pet food out. Basically, anything that an omnivore could eat. These guys are really generous in their diet.”

In addition to the risk of spreading diseases as an invasive species, opossums’ indiscriminate hunting and foraging methods pose a risk to local wildlife. Herreman said nesting birds, rodents, and even frogs are a possible food source.

“So you think of the small mammals we have, like our redback voles, our shrews, some of our ermine that are smaller in size, they can compete for space and food and prey on some of these things,” Herreman said.

The search in Homer is currently focused an area between Ulmer’s Drug & Hardware and City Hall, extending down to the local Safeway store. Pet owners should keep animals indoors during the live trapping efforts to capture the young opossums.

Fish and Game is asking the community for help in locating any remaining joeys. Herreman says they may transfer diseases to people who get too close and recommends people keep an eye on it and call their office at 907-235-8191 and Homer police at 907-235-3150 after business hours.

Seven Steller sea lions were shot near Cordova last month, and investigators are offering a reward for information that could lead to the shooter.

A statement from NOAA fisheries said the sea lions were discovered in the Copper River Delta near Cordova on May 16, by members of the agency’s protected resources division. The Copper River commercial fishery opened just a day earlier. NOAA says the sea lions appear to have been shot with no evidence of an attempt to harvest or salvage them.

Steller sea lions are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, and killing marine mammals like sea lions is also a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

NOAA is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to a “civil penalty or criminal conviction” in the shootings. You can call the investigating agent at (907) 250-5188, or NOAA’s Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.

A NOAA law enforcement spokesperson declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation.

It turns out that Grubby the opossum — who hitched a ride to Alaska in a shipping container in March — had babies.

State biologists say they captured a male opossum Thursday near Homer City Hall. The opossum, one of Grubby’s offspring, appears to be two to three months old. They’re now looking for more young opossums in the Kenai Peninsula town.

“Opossums typically have litter sizes of, say, eight to nine — they’ve been known to have as many as 13,” said Jason Herreman with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “So there’s probably a few individuals out there that we’re trying to track down.”

Grubby originally landed in Homer in the back of a shipping container that came from Washington state. She was on the run for about two months. Biologists wanted Grubby caught because opossums don’t live in Alaska, making her an invasive species. Police eventually captured her at the end of May and she was taken to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage.

Herreman said Grubby was most likely pregnant when she arrived in Alaska. But that wasn’t known until the young opossums started appearing. He said there have been multiple sightings of opossums around Homer this week, including one near Grubstake Avenue, Grubby’s namesake street where she was first seen.

Herreman said it’s not surprising that the younger opossums are out on their own.

“These guys are to the size and age where they should be able to make it on their own just fine, particularly with the conditions we have in Homer and where they’re at in town,” he said.

By Friday, operators of Homer’s animal shelter were asking pet owners to keep their animals indoors during Fish and Game’s live-trapping efforts.

As an invasive species, Herreman said the young opossums pose the same concerns that Grubby herself did, ranging from spreading infectious diseases to eating indigenous animals.

“There’s plenty of food sources for them, the weather’s warm,” Herreman said. “So unfortunately, that gives them a good chance of getting a foothold, and establishing a population if we don’t manage to check all these guys down pretty quick.”

Homer police said on Facebook that placements are available for Grubby’s offspring, so people shouldn’t be afraid to report them.

Grubby has attracted quite a fanbase during her time in Alaska, spurring memes, the hashtag #FreeGrubby and donations to The Alaska Zoo.