On the front line of WA’s fight against bird flu as fears grow for endangered species

Off the coast of Geraldton, a program focused on Australian sea lion pups hopes to keep the population resilient ahead of bird flu taking hold.

Off the coast of Geraldton, a program focused on Australian sea lion pups hopes to keep the population resilient ahead of bird flu taking hold.

Merriam Saba took a chance on alternate wetting and drying in her rice paddy in Los Banos, the Philippines, nine years ago and has never looked back. (Photo by Sherwin Vardeleon)Big in AsiaFewer flooded paddies could mitigate a leading source of Southeast Asia's methane emissionsRAMON ROYANDOYANAugust 8, 2026 06:00 JST

Lethal bird flu is now spreading in Australia. This is bad news for many native species. New federal government analysis suggests close to one in five Australian bird and mammal species is at high, very high or extreme risk. But this risk assessment omits something vital – how genetically well-equipped the species is