Australia's federal government has dropped a rather unsettling report card on the nation's native wildlife: almost 400 species - including penguins, fur seals, quolls, dolphins, and even the Tasmanian devil - are now considered at 'high risk' or worse from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. Because nothing says 'beloved national icon' like a 'severe reduction in population size or viability.'
Five species are deemed at 'extreme risk,' which is the government's way of saying they're 'unlikely to survive where the virus occurs.' These are the overachievers of vulnerability: birds that breed on single islands, like the endangered Christmas Island frigatebird and the critically endangered herald petrel, which apparently had the audacity to nest only on Raine Island in the far north of the Great Barrier Reef.
And for the 80-plus endangered and critically endangered species already on the brink, H5N1 is the cosmic kick while they're down. The assessment, covering more than 2,000 native species and conducted with Charles Darwin University and BirdLife Australia, was released on Tuesday evening. Nearly one in five species rated as facing 'extreme,' 'very high,' or 'high' risk - because why should only the famous get the bad news?
Australia's three resident seals - the Australian fur seal, the New Zealand fur seal, and the Australian sea lion - are all at 'very high risk,' while the Tasmanian devil and the eastern quoll lead the land mammal category at 'high risk.' Prof John Woinarski, a leading conservation scientist at Charles Darwin University who helped devise the analysis, said: 'This has sketched out a more bleak picture than perhaps we considered previously. We are going to get major consequences for many species and our bird and mammal diversity is likely to suffer substantial impacts from this disease.'
Prof Hugh Possingham of the University of Queensland, a lead councillor at the Biodiversity Council, called the analysis 'a good first cut' but noted it should have been released two years ago. 'A year ago we needed a priority action list and we should have been taking action then because everyone knew that it was coming,' he said - a sentiment that could apply to many things, really.
Kate Millar, the chief executive of BirdLife Australia, said the list was 'long' and 'incredibly confronting,' but at least it means Australia can 'prioritise and take action protecting the species most at risk.' Jack Gough, the chief executive of the Invasive Species Council, dubbed it the 'list of doom,' revealing 'the true extent of the disaster facing Australian wildlife.' He called for a 'serious response' from the government, but 'instead we have had cuts to on ground environment programs nationally.'
Conservation groups are pushing for a $200m package to scale up on-ground efforts, including feral animal controls. The government has so far committed $113m to prepare for bird flu, including $47m 'to accelerate protective action' for threatened species and biodiversity - a start, but perhaps not the 'serious response' the council had in mind.
Jess Abrahams, national nature campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation, warned: 'Australia is already in the midst of an extinction crisis and we need to be prepared for just how harrowing this could get.' She added that Australians should be 'emotionally prepared for the onslaught that could occur and know what to do if they come across a sick, dying or dead animal.'
The H5N1 virus has killed millions of birds and mammals since it spread from Europe in 2021 to every continent. Australia was the final continent breached six weeks ago, when infected Antarctic and subantarctic migratory seabirds were found dead and sick in Western Australia and South Australia. The virus has now been confirmed in more than 100 individual birds, with the first mass mortality event recorded in South Australia. Detections have also been confirmed in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. So yes, the birds are literally dropping like flies - or, well, birds.