Background Articles

Chukchi Sea polar bears show increased exposure to pathogens like canine distemper virus and Toxoplasma gondii, potentially due to changes in their diet and extended time on land.

For the first time in more than 20 years, rabies was confirmed in a river otter, officials said.

As sea ice in the Arctic decreases due to climate change, it’s opening the way for more than cruise ship travel. Scientists have found evidence that links the decline of sea ice to the emergence of a virus in Arctic marine mammals that has killed thousands of seals in European waters.

When scientists found that Alaska sea otters were exposed to a sometimes-deadly virus that plagues seals in the North Atlantic, they were puzzled. Phocine distemper virus had not been previously found in Alaska waters.

When sea otters in Alaska were diagnosed with phocine distemper virus (PDV) in 2004, scientists were confused. The pathogen in the Morbillivirus genus that contains viruses like measles had then only been found in Europe and on the eastern coast of North America.

Alaska Wildlife News is an online magazine published by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game