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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Mass deaths of elephant seals recorded as bird flu sweeps across the Antarctic
The virus was first reported among brown skua on Bird Island, off South Georgia. Since then, researchers and observers have reported mass deaths of elephant seals, as well as increased deaths of fur seals, kelp gulls and brown skua at several other sites. Researchers warn of one of ‘largest ecological disasters of modern times’ if the highly contagious disease reaches penguin colonies.
South Georgia, Sandwich Islands
the Guardian

North Atlantic right whales may face extinction after no new births recorded
Declining fertility and rising mortality, exacerbated by fishing industry, prompts experts to warn whales could be extinct by 2040
Gulf of Maine
the Guardian

Scientists baffled by number of whale deaths on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland
Scientists are baffled by a wave of whale deaths - which saw more carcasses wash up on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland in the past month than in the previous decade.
Scotland & Ireland
The Scotsman

Killer whales are stalking boats and stealing their fish
Pods of killer whales are stalking the boats of Alaska fishermen and stealing their halibut catches, leaving the men with no fish and thousands of gallons of fuel wasted trying to flee.
It’s not...
Bering Sea
The Verge

First birds, now mammals: how H5N1 is killing thousands of sea lions in Peru
Avian flu has decimated the marine creatures on the country’s Pacific coastline and scientists fear it could be jumping from mammal to mammal
Peru
the Guardian

N.L. polar bears damage snowmobiles, hot tub as they head north early
People in southern Labrador and along Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula are being cautioned to be on the lookout for the bears, who have already begun to move north.
Saint Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
The Telegram

38 million pieces of plastic waste found on uninhabited South Pacific island
Henderson Island

Dozens of polar bears stranded outside Russian Arctic village because of melting ice
Nearly 60 polar bears have been stranded on the Arctic coast near a remote village in Russia's Far East after warm winter weather hampered their hunting routine.
The Telegraph

Melting Arctic ice reduces bowhead whale migration
Researchers in Canada find that population did not bother making the 6,000km roundtrip in 2018-2019
Bearing, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas

The first case of a walrus dying of bird flu registered on Svalbard
“Last year we got several reports from tourists and scientists that they saw around six walruses dead here on the west side of Svalbard. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sample them as the dead walruses drifted away by the time we got to the place. But it’s not normal to get so many reported dead walruses in such a small area," said Christian Lydersen, senior scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute. Now samples (collected by a Station Manager in July 2023) have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen
The Independent Barents Observer

The Salish Sea’s orcas are late for their annual summer visit, the latest sign something is wrong
Researchers say their absence is a stark reminder that the orcas are slowly starving to death because there is not enough Chinook salmon to sustain them.
Salish Sea
The Star

Whale-dolphin hybrid species discovered off coast of Hawaii
A rare whale-dolphin hybrid species has been discovered off the coast of Hawaii, scientists say. The animal is the first-ever documented offspring of a rough-toothed dolphin and the rare melon-headed whale, a team from the Cascadia Research Collective concluded in a report released this week.
Kaua'i, Hawaii, United States
The Independent

Humpback Whale Rescued Near Russia’s Murmansk Region
A humpback whale named Stanislav was successfully freed from a fishing net in a first-of-its-kind rescue operation in Russia's Barents Sea.
Murmansk, Murmansk, Russia
The Moscow Times

Young whale with broken jaw washed up on Belgian beach
A dead minke whale with a broken jaw washed up on a Belgian beach on Friday.
Bredene, Flanders, Belgium
The Brussels Times

Thousands of Endangered Seals Wash Up Dead on Russia's Caspian Shore
At least 2,500 dead Caspian seals have been found on the shores of Russia’s Caspian Sea coast, local authorities said Sunday.
Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia
The Moscow Times

Wandering seals swarm streets of Newfoundland town
Officials are warning residents in Roddickton, Newfoundland to keep their distance from seals that have wandered into town.
According to resident Brendon Fitzpatrick, some have crawled 6 to 8 km away from the ocean.
Roddickton, Newfoundland, Canada
The Weather Network

Rare ‘Ugly Duckling’ Albino Seal Pup in Far East Russia Wins Hearts
Scientists worry for the pup's survival. Due to the pup’s albinism, it not only has bad eyesight, but could also be ostracized by the colony due to its unique characteristics.
Tyuleny Island
The Moscow Times

Wild Animals Roam Russian Cities During Quarantine
With the coronavirus pandemic leaving Russia's cities quiet and deserted, its wild animals have decided to check things out.
Russia

Bowhead whales appear to be on the rebound
The open ocean off Utqiagvik in fall and early winter is evidence of climate change. Remarkably, bowhead whales appear to be thriving, although there are new challenges. Kidney-worm infections have been detected in bowheads, possibly brought by other species of whales coming north. And then there are the killer whales, a natural predators of bowheads now venturing north.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Sounder

Red Book’s Steller Sea lion rescued from a plastic death trap in Russian Far East
The endangered mammal got tied up to the Nevelsk breakwater from debris and rope that it got caught in.
Nevel’sk, Sakhalin, Russia
The Siberian Times

Gulf of Maine Water Temperatures Soar Near Record Highs After Ocean 'Heat Wave'
NOAA and NASA satellites measured an average sea-surface temperature of 68.93 degrees Fahrenheit in the Gulf of Maine on Aug. 8, only 0.05 degrees below the all-time record high of 68.98 set in 2012. It is the epicenter of the U.S. lobster fishing industry, an important feeding ground for rare North Atlantic right whales .
Gulf of Maine
The Weather Channel

Arctic walrus spotted in Kerry reappears in Wales
Marine biologist and director of Dingle’s OceanWorld Aquarium, Kevin Flannery, told the Irish Times it is “very unusual” for a walrus to be spotted in this part of the world, although there have been potential sightings from surfers and fishermen in Ireland in the past.
Wales, England, United Kingdom
The Irish Times

Botulism cases reported in Nome
Public health officials confirmed that four Nome residents had been hospitalized in early January with preliminary results pointing to poising from foodborne type E botulism from an aged beluga flipper.
Nome, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

64 walruses found dead at Point Lay haulout
Dozens of walruses were found dead earlier this month at their seasonal haulout near Point Lay. The findings came just about a day after locals said they saw an airplane they believed to be flying inappropriately over the herd, which comes to shore each year once the sea ice recedes past the continental shelf and it becomes too deep for them to feed.
Point Lay, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Sounder

Whale strandings off Washington-Oregon coast highest in nearly 2 decades
Sixteen gray and humpback whales have been reported stranded off Washington and Oregon since April 3, the largest number in nearly two decades.
Oregon & Washington Coast, United States
The Seattle Times

Seal pups and walrus calves found stranded on regional beaches
Near Nome, reports of seal pups and walrus calves hauled out on beaches are piling up at an unprecedented rate.
Nome, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

Dolphins sighted in Kopli Bay in Estonia
Estonian ship pilot Indrek Sulla on Tuesday morning sighted two dolphins who had likely wandered into Kopli Bay from the Atlantic.
Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia
The Baltic Course

From Iceland — Beached Whale In Northwest Iceland Sparks Concern
A sperm whale beached itself in the northwest Iceland region of Skaga, the Northwest Iceland Nature Agency reports.
Skagaströnd, Northwest, Iceland
The Reykjavik Grapevine

Beluga Family Rescued From Low Tide by Russian Emergency Worker
Residents of the coastal Chumikan village reported two adult whales and one baby on Wednesday afternoon, on a shore of the Uda River that flows into the sea. Alexei Paramonov spent hours protecting the pod from wild animals and poachers and saved the baby whale from hypothermia.
Chumikan, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia

With less sea ice, expect seal pups near shore
On Sunday night, a plump ringed seal pup was spotted on the ice in front of Breaker’s Bar on Nome’s Front Street. UAF Alaska Sea Grant agent Gay Sheffield was called and moved the pup to a more secluded beach. The ice had likely gone out too fast and the mother finished up the normal weaning process on the ice chunks in front of Nome.
Nome, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

Investigation into washed up whale’s death begins in Alaska
The extraordinary sight of a 30-foot long dead humpback whale that washed up on a beach area in Anchorage.
Eye on the Arctic

This Giant Dead Sea Creature Washed Up On An Island, And It's Freaking Everyone Out
Pulau Seram, Maluku, Indonesia
The Huffington Post

In Greenland’s northernmost village, a melting Arctic threatens the age-old hunt
But the age-old Inugguit lifestyle is changing fast as the climate warms, disrupting long-held patterns and possibilities and forcing economic challenges as a traditional hunting culture weighs new industries such as fishing and even tourism.
Qaanaaq, Greenland
The Washington Post

Polar bear with cub visits Diomede School
John Ahkvaluk , 56, a polar bear guard revealed that this is not a good sign for the village. It’s the first time in several years that bears come at this time of the year. “It’s a warning that they got no food out there and they came looking for it here,” he said.
After the incident, Luchie Manlangit, the school principal, and I invited John Ahkvaluk to talk to the kids and to share some protocols if polar bear will come around again.
Diomede, Alaska, United States

Gambell gets distemper outbreak under control
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.
Gambell, Alaska, United States

No more ‘Kings of the Columbia’: Chinook salmon much smaller these days
Like its old-growth trees, the Northwest’s big, old chinook salmon are largely gone, a new study finds, with implications for Puget Sound’s critically endangered southern resident killer whales.
Columbia River, United States
The Seattle Times

Dolphin and seal deaths in Waterford Harbour spur call for inquiry
Verified reports of deaths and circumstantial evidence animals trapped in ‘bycatch’
Waterford City, Ireland
The Irish Times

Toxic algae may have played part in sea bird die off
Walruses were found washed up on the beaches from Cape Espenberg to Shishmaref and further west. Samples taken from the intestines of four walrus all had moderate to high levels of saxitoxin.

Scientists puzzled by right whale's appearance off Iceland
But an Icelandic whale-watching crew spotted the right whale named Mogul three times this week, leaving a research scientist wondering why the animal ventured so far.
Reykjavík, Reykjavík, Iceland
Eye on the Arctic

Researchers think they spotted new whale species off Mexico
Scientists are waiting for water samples analysis that could hold skin cells for possible DNA testing. . Read more at straitstimes.com.
San Benito Islands
The Straits Times

More dead ice seals found near Deering
This comes just days after other reports of about 60 dead ice seals found from Kotlik to Kotzebue and Kivalina to Point Hope.
Deering, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Sounder

Walrus herds pass Nome Headed North
The appearance of walrus on the ice off Nome added some excitement to the onset of spring.

More dead marine mammals, birds found on region’s beaches
Alaska Sea Grant agent Gay Sheffield from Nome responded to report of a dead bowhead and a dead grey whale northeast of Shishmaref near Cape Espenburg.
Shishmaref, Alaska, United States

Exhausted and Starving Polar Bear Wanders Into Siberian City
It is the first polar bear seen in the city in more than 40 years, according to local environmentalists.
Norilsk, Krasnoyarskiy, Russia

Saimaa seal population on the rise in Finland
Recent heavy snowfall and large drifts have created ideal conditions for the dens where the endangered Saimaa ringed seal raise their young, and a record number of pups may be born this year. The freshwater Saimaa ringed seal is one of the most endangered seal species in the world.
Lake Saimaa, South Karelia, Finland
Eye on the Arctic

13-year-old girl bit by sea lion in ‘very rare’ attack at Pismo Beach
A girl from Paso Robles, California, was bit by a sea lion in Pismo Beach on Friday near the pier. The animal that attacked likely had domoic acid poisoning, and will be treated at the Marine Mammal Center.
Pismo Beach, California, United States
The San Luis Obispo Tribune

Too Many Sea Otters?
Some want to be able to kill them again off BC's coast. Part one of a Tyee special report.
Chesterman Beach, British Columbia, Canada
The Tyee

A record number of Atlantic walruses recorded in the Russian Arctic
According to preliminary data, more than seven thousand walruses were recorded, which is two times as many as last year. This was also when the largest walrus habitat in the history of Arctic exploration was found on the northernmost island of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the Eva-Liv island.
Franz Josef Land
The Independent Barents Observer

Spring bounty: Utqiagvik landed 10 whales in less than two weeks
This early in spring, the season usually only starts, but the weather patterns have been changing, and so has been the harvest time, Donovan said.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States

Scientists Find Worrisome Lesions on Endangered Southern Resident Orcas
The peer-reviewed research published this week in the Public Library of Science suggests that 99% of the orcas studied had photographic evidence of skin lesions. Researchers evaluated photos from nearly 20,000 orca sightings from 2004 to 2016, finding that lesions — often gray patches and gray targets on the orcas' skin — generally became more prevalent over time.
Seattle, Washington, United States
The Daily Chronicle

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