Since H5 bird flu arrived in Portland, Victoria, the situation has been “pretty grim” with many dead and suffering birds on the beach, and the dilemma of how to dispose of the carcasses, according to local resident Lynn Murrell.

But since the first confirmed case in a fur seal on Sunday at Beachport, South Australia – a two-hour trip over the border – people have been worried for their local “pet seal”, known as Sammy.

“He’s a great tourist attraction. The locals love him. So, we’d hate to see him get the flu,” Murrell, the president of the Southwest Environment Alliance, a coalition of local environment groups, said.

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The male southern elephant seal had “kind of adopted the town”, frequenting the foreshore and port, and sometimes the community gardens. In recent weeks, the seal has been spotted near birds presumed to have died from H5N1.

Southern elephant seals breed in large colonies but disperse widely to feed, migrating over 1,000 kilometres. Photograph: Victorian Wildlife Alliance

Victoria’s first bird flu case was detected in the town, in the far south-west of the state, at the end of July. Since then, the area has become a hotspot, with 17 confirmed events in crested terns, magpies, silver gulls and ravens, according to the federal agriculture department, and many more suspected cases.

People were concerned about the carcasses, and the risk of the virus spreading as a result of scavengers eating them. Some have estimated 30 to 40 new sick and dying birds on the beach a day.

A spokesperson for Glenelg shire council said the situation was distressing for many in the community. They said the state government’s advice was to leave the dead birds in place, although council had begun removing some where “unacceptable public amenity or safety risks have been identified”.

Prof Rob Harcourt, at Macquarie University, said elephant seals like Sammy were “characters” and “the most gregarious animals you’ve ever seen”, which explained why communities named them.

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Along with Sammy, a regular visitor to Portland, and Neil in Tasmania, many others had gained notoriety, including Humphrey, a three-tonne celebrity who frequented New Zealand coastal towns in the 1980s.

Southern elephant seals breed in large colonies, especially on Macquarie Island, Harcourt said. But because they’re so large and need a lot of food, they disperse widely to feed, migrating over 1,000 kilometres.

They’re strong swimmers, but on land they “move along like caterpillars,” he said.

Volunteer wildlife carers from western Victoria travelled to Portland last weekend to humanely euthanise sick birds. Photograph: Victorian Wildlife Alliance

Seals and sea lions often share spaces with wild birds, placing them at risk of infection from H5 bird flu. In Victoria, more than 100 marine mammals have been reported to the emergency animal disease hotline this month, although none so far have been confirmed as positive cases.

Seals were also vulnerable because they’re “thigmotactic”, Harcourt said, which means they love to lie touching each other. They recognised one another through “nasal exchange”. “They sniff each other’s faces”, he said; “mothers recognise their pups by touching noses”.

Southern elephant seals, listed as vulnerable under federal environment laws, were at “very high risk” of H5 bird flu, according to a national assessment. The deadly strain killed more than 13,000 pups on Heard Island in 2025 and 2026.

Australian sea lions, listed as endangered, were a particular concern given their low numbers. “Sea lions are like the labradors of the sea. They’re friendly and playful, and they’re curious,” Harcourt said. “I will be totally and utterly devastated if we lose them.”

With so many birds suffering, volunteer wildlife carers from western Victoria travelled to Portland last weekend, in a bid to humanely euthanise birds, which were being left to die slow, painful deaths.

“This is a Band-Aid over a bleeding wound,” David Mould from the Victorian Wildlife Alliance said. “This is not a solution. This is a couple of volunteers picking up the slack of what should be a major government operation.”

“The decline is rapid. These birds can’t fly. They have neurological symptoms,” he said. “They lose their ability to walk, and they start staggering around having seizures. You see them with their wings splayed out to support them off the ground, until they lose even the strength to do that.”