Alaskan black bear contracts avian flu

Alaska wildlife officials have euthanized a black bear (Ursus americanus) cub after it became ill with avian flu. Officials believe the bear likely ate a bird that died from the virus. The bear, which was in Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, is the second known black bear to contract the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, which has affected some mammals and spread widely through wild birds around the world. In June, a female black bear in Canada was found with the virus. Alaska authorities have also seen it in two red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

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