Overview
- Park managers reopened public viewing after about six weeks of restrictions, citing no newly detected mammal cases over roughly two weeks.
- Field teams from UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis first identified the H5N1 bird flu strain at the site in late February.
- As of April 2, officials had confirmed 36 infected elephant seals across San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, plus three sea lions and one otter, with at least 18 animal deaths.
- This was the first time this strain was confirmed in elephant seals on the U.S. West Coast, after earlier seal outbreaks in Maine in 2022 and a die-off in Argentina in 2023.
- Visitors must now keep 30 feet from seals, and state health officials advise staying 150 yards from any dead birds or wildlife, with access subject to tighter limits if new cases appear.