Sightings of 'Sammy' the seal lying next to dead birds spark concerns

For the past seven years, Scott Kempton has taken boats out of the waters of Portland, Victoria for maintenance — but for the past three weeks, he has used a long-handled shovel to clear the same slipway of dozens of dead birds.

"There was one day last week where there was 22," said the slipway operator.

While he said the removal efforts were partly to prevent "stinking the joint out", Mr Kempton's mission is further fuelled by the presence of "Sammy", a celebrity seal. 

Locals have seen the multi-tonne elephant seal resting near birds that have died close to one of his frequent hang-out spots. 

"The first one was a [crested] tern … He was laying with it for probably five or six hours," said Mr Kempton, a resident of the coastal city in the state's south west.

"[The community] are worried that he'll get bird flu and he'll tip over."

Attention on the ground

The local concerns come as Australia confirms the first bird flu mammal death in a long-nosed fur seal — a different species of seal to Sammy — in Beachport on SA's Limestone Coast. 

Portland residents are calling for authorities to protect the local icon and other seals. 

"They are vaccinating penguins as it's a money raiser," resident Helen Oakley said.

"Why not ensure this unique seal is protected at all costs?"

Ms Oakley, who is a wildlife advocate, said the authorities needed to ensure there were no bird carcasses lying around Sammy when the seal was resting on land.

She said she recently counted 15 dead terns in the vicinity of Sammy.

High-profile and high-risk

Across the subantarctic, the population of southern elephant seals like Sammy have been dealt a heavy blow by the deadly avian flu. 

University of Tasmania Antarctic ecologist Jane Younger worked on the island of South Georgia, where tens of thousands of seal pups died from the virus.

"We're coming ashore and there's hundreds or even thousands of carcasses in some places," she said

Dr Younger said not a lot could be done to limit the spread of bird flu among elephant seals, though a vaccine trial on northern elephant seals in the United States was underway.

But she said Sammy's isolation may actually help the seal avoid infection.

"He doesn't have other seals to transmit it to him, so that's a good thing,"

she said.

"But he could get it from infected birds, or possibly the environment if the environment is infected.

"Carcass removal from the area that he's living is something that could be looked at, but making sure that's all done in a safe way."

Keep a distance

Back in Portland, Ms Oakley called on people to keep away from elephant seals to ensure their safety and that of the mammal.

"If the seal does attack anyone it gets euthanased, so please follow guidelines to protect it all costs," she said.

Ms Oakley said there had been "idiot people" getting too close to Sammy the seal and harassing and yelling at the mammal.

"They need to back off and let the animal rest in peace and quiet, particularly with the prevalence of bird flu,"

she said.

She said people needed to stay 30 metres away from a seal, and keep dogs away.

Mr Kempton said while he was satisfied with the Victorian government's response, he believed many in the community were angry at what they felt had been inaction.

"I don't really know what the government can do," he said. 

"It's a bird flu, [birds] are going to die.

"You can't stop the birds from dying, but if people keep moving them away from [Sammy], it’s got to help."

Agriculture Victoria was contacted for comment, but did not respond in time for publication.