oiled toad

Latest News

Latest News

A Warning from the Wild: H5N1 Hits Patagonia’s Elephant Seals

When our Latin America Program director Dr. Marcela Uhart arrived at the windswept beaches of southern Patagonia, she was met with a devastating sight—thousands of dead elephant seals, including mothers and pups, wiped out by the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

As the virus spreads globally, mutating and infecting more species—including mammals—scientists like Uhart are racing to understand its deadly trajectory. Her team’s findings, recently published in Nature, underscore a critical truth: We can’t prepare for what’s coming unless we’re paying attention now.

Salish Sea Wild Gets Two EMMY™ Nominations!

SeaDoc Society's original web series, Salish Sea Wild, has been nominated for two EMMY™ Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences! The show is produced by Bob Friel and hosted by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos.

SeaDoc has two Salish Sea Wild episodes nominated in the North West Chapter's Environment/Science - Long Form Content category:

  

NEW PUB: Exposure and survival of wild raptors during the 2022-2023 highly pathogenic influenza a virus outbreak

A new study co-authored by Dr. Victoria Hall, Director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, sheds light on raptor survival following infection with highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza. Published in Nature, the research—conducted during her time at The Raptor Center in Minnesota—reveals that a significant number of raptors, including bald eagles, have developed antibodies to H5 and N1, suggesting a higher-than-expected survival rate post-infection.

When They Were Students ft. Rosemarie Scharf

'When They Were Students' is a feature highlighting the diverse and unique journeys of our OHI team members into their current One Health careers.

My career has been anything but linear, and if there’s one piece of advice I’d give to young students, it’s this: say yes to opportunities, even if they scare you. Growth happens outside your comfort zone, and the best paths are often the ones you never planned for.

When They Were Students ft. Catherine Lo

'When They Were Students' is a feature highlighting the diverse and unique journeys of our OHI team members into their current One Health careers.

Hi, I’m Catherine. I am a researcher with the SeaDoc Society, a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the UC Davis One Health Institute. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon consumed by countless hours of Rock Band, swim team practices, Girl Scouts, and Knox, the sticky hair-ripping gelatin cast I used as a synchronized swimmer.

Among the Academies: Solving Outbreak Mysteries

As a wildlife veterinarian in Florida in the 1990s, Christine Kreuder Johnson could think of only one place to turn for help when she faced mysterious die-offs of birds and sea turtles: UC Davis.

Johnson had previously worked as a veterinarian to horses competing at the racetrack, but found herself increasingly drawn to puzzles at the population level, like the one she now faced at a national wildlife refuge. But she needed help.

“I had all the puzzle pieces, but I couldn’t put it together,” she said.

When They Were Students ft. David Wolking

'When They Were Students' is a feature highlighting the diverse and unique journeys of our OHI team members into their current One Health careers.

An Unconventional Journey to One Health

Hey, I’m David. I grew up in Detroit in the ‘80s and was into making bad films with friends, editing the high school literary magazine, hanging at Grateful Dead and Phish festivals in the Great Lakes region, and later anything boho, indie, or punk in and around Chicago and Detroit.

NEW PUB: Chlamydial infections in free-ranging raptors presenting to a university veterinary medical teaching hospital (1993-2022)

Our California Raptor Center director Dr. Michelle Hawkins is lead author on a recent publication describing the prevalence, clinical findings, lesions, and risk factors associated with chlamydial infections in raptors admitted to a university veterinary medical teaching hospital from 1993-2022.

For more information and findings, check out the full publication in AVMA's American Journal of Veterinary Research: