Headline : Rabies is Spreading in South African Seals, Scientists Say

Read more from the original article on here at www.nytimes.com.

---

No. of Paragraph 16

For the last three years, scientists in South Africa have been trying to unravel a grim marine mystery: What was happening to the Cape fur seals?

The boisterous marine mammals, which are common along the nation’s shores, began washing up dead in enormous numbers. Pregnant females delivered dead premature pups. And some seals began displaying unusually aggressive behavior, attacking humans, dogs and each other.

Some scientists suspected that a neurotoxin produced by algae might be to blame. In recent weeks, however, another specter has come into focus: rabies.

So far, 17 seals have tested positive for the virus, said Tess Gridley, a founding director of Sea Search Research and Conservation, who has been investigating the seal deaths. The cases, which date back to at least August 2022 and span hundreds of miles of coastline, may be the first sustained rabies outbreak ever documented in marine mammals.

Read more from the original article on here at www.nytimes.com.

Related Headlines : Rabies is Spreading in South African Seals, Scientists Say (in Google.com):

Hello, below you have a "Web" tab to read more content and an "Image" tab to get related pictures

Example : Trends, Country, News, Jobs, Scholarships, Investment, Business, Politics, Adverts, Fashion, Events, Technology and more.