Three birds dead from avian flu in Ecuador's Galapagos

Reuters Videos
1 年前

STORY: The avian flu arrives in Ecuador’s Galapagos

The archipelago is home to 78 endemic and native bird species

Location: Genovesa Island, Ecuador

Officials say they're stepping up protection efforts

after three dead birds tested positive for the virus

[Danny Rueda, Galapagos National Park Director]

"It is regrettable news since our birds are endemic. We are keeping constant monitoring at the sites where visibly affected birds have been detected. The first measure is to close down these sites to visitors. Obviously we need to act as Galapagos National Park rangers, monitoring each site, carrying out surveillance on each site and taking measures according to the protocol we have."

"Our biggest concern is focused on our penguins, cormorants, and albatross populations. They are endemic birds very susceptible to any climate change effects, food scarcity, and even more with disease. Then we are focusing our efforts to monitor the population status and health of these three species and all of the bird species."