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Polar bears may catch bird flu after eating bird carcasses infected with the deadly H5N1 strain, experts say. The first death was recorded in Alaska recently. State environmental health officials confirmed the death in December after the body was found in the state’s northernmost town of Utkiagwik in October.

Experts say these infections could put additional and potentially devastating pressure on Arctic populations already under severe stress from climate change. It is possible that other polar bears have also contracted bird flu, but how individuals respond to infection will depend on their overall health.

The situation was not unexpected; The deadly virus has previously been found in black and brown bears. However, polar bears are a vulnerable species due to the loss of sea ice habitats; so additional deaths from the disease could deal another blow to the species.

The overall significance of the polar bear incident is still unclear. Douglas A. Clarke, an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Ecology and Sustainability, says a single death doesn’t necessarily matter from a conservation perspective. But this shows that the species is vulnerable. “It’s unlikely these are isolated cases; this is just the one that’s been discovered,” he said.

Tracking the virus among polar bears is complicated by the environment they live in. Experts say this Since these animals do not live in large groups, the risk of transmission of the virus from bear to bear is low.. But the reduction in sea ice has forced them to feed on more seabirds and less fish, potentially making them more susceptible to the virus.

Pollution may also make polar bears more vulnerable to bird flu. This species is highly affected by anthropogenic chemicals as they accumulate in the animal’s high-fat diet. When bears are forced ashore, their fat stores are depleted and circulating contaminants stored in the fat begin to affect their immune systems.

A bear’s immune system may be weakened after being hungry for a long time and experiencing food stress. Now if you expose a bear with a compromised immune system to bird flu, the survival problem becomes more complicated.
– says Andrew Derocher, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta Canada

So far, diseases have not posed a serious problem for the conservation of polar bears, but this may change in the near future.