Norway reports Europe’s first bird fluEurope’s first bird flu case in a polar bear
Norwegian authorities said they detected the H5N5 bird flu variant in a young male polar bear and in a dead walrus on Svalbard in mid-May.
The finding is Europe’s first known case in a polar bear and matters because it shows the virus can spread into Arctic wildlife far from typical bird populations.
- Svalbard lies closer to the North Pole than to mainland Norway.
- Polar bears are the largest land carnivores on Earth.
- Walruses can travel long distances under sea ice and along Arctic coastlines.
