Mystery Illness Affects Ringed Seals Symptoms starting to appear
in Pacific walruses also For the past eight years, federal and
state biologists have been studying mysterious hair loss in
ringed seals in the Arctic Ocean. Now, they say the problem is
becoming much more serious. In July, biologists began receiving
reports of dead and diseased seals in the Bering Strait, and
since then they’ve counted more than 130 animals affected by the
mystery illness. The animals suffered from lesions on their
faces and hind flippers, and further testing revealed liver
spots, fluid in their lungs and strange brain growths. The
reports keep rolling in, leading officials from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare the deaths an
“unusual mortality event.” Biologists and animal pathologists
from NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have begun an
in-depth investigation into the causes of the disease, but say
they’re still coming up empty. Now, the same symptoms are
beginning to appear in Pacific wa