The McDonald Fire has grown to over 39,000 acres west of the Tanana River, with statewide fires consuming 72,000 acres; critical fire danger and smoke advisories are in effect.
A research vessel, Norseman II, was trapped in unusually dense sea ice for 14 days off the Seward Peninsula coast during a Pacific walrus study, but is now en route to Nome for repairs.
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.
Sakha is now the fourth region in the Far East where a state of emergency is currently in place due to wildfires. The other three are the Zabaykalsky and Amur regions, as well as the republic of Buryatia. Russia’s wildfire season officially began in early March. By mid-April, regions in the Far East recorded nearly twice as many fires as they had during the same period last year, with most blazes caused by human negligence.
A second seal pup has been rescued on Kenai Beach, marking the fourth such case for the Alaska SeaLife Center's Wildlife Response Program.
May was also exceptionally dry in many areas. According to the FMI, Savukoski, a village in eastern Lapland, recorded the most rainfall last month with 59.4 millimeters.
The Atchuelinguk Fire, an 800-acre tundra blaze near Marshall, Alaska, extinguished naturally. Ipsen said that the fire occurred in an area where blazes are allowed to play out when not threatening known sites of value or people. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
While the population increased, the assessment did find that narwhals are sensitive to sound from boats and move away from boat traffic, Mike Hammill, the co-chair of COSEWIC’s marine mammals subcommittee, told Nunatsiaq News. Previously the species was listed as being of “special concern.”
During a bird survey in Wood Buffalo National Park, Earl Evans unexpectedly discovered a plane wreckage from a 1971 crash, typically submerged but now visible due to low water levels.
“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.
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