A dog at the Kodiak Animal Shelter was euthanized after testing positive for canine distemper, leading to a quarantine and a halt on adoptions.

The community of Gambell fought a distemper outbreak among its dog population this spring and managed to squash the epidemic in its early onset. Distemper is a deadly disease that can afflict dogs and wildlife alike and also has been documented in the North Atlantic to jump from dogs to marine mammals like seals.

As sea ice off Alaska continues its long-term vanishing trend, two seal species that depend on ice may be showing the effects in their bodies. Ribbon seals, distinctive for their black-and-white striped patterns on their fur, and spotted seals, known for their speckled coats, became thinner over time.

Thawing sea ice may have opened the door, allowing the infection to cross oceans, a new study suggests.

Scientists have narrowed down the top likely causes of more than 1,400 seal deaths across New England.

Deaths of gray and harbor seals, in much greater numbers than usual, have been attributed to viruses related to distemper and the flu.

Many of the dead seals that washed ashore in northern New England in the past few weeks tested positive for either avian influenza or phocine distemper virus, but it is still too soon to say if those viruses are the primary causes of the unusual die-off.

Preliminary results suggest that avian flu and/or phocine distemper virus may be contributing to the elevated seal strandings in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts since June 1, 2018.

The population of endangered killer whales has hit a 30-year-low, numbering only 75 this year.