{
  "id": 3420481,
  "title": "Fears for ‘gregarious’ local celebrity Sammy the elephant seal in Victorian bird flu hotspot",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/fears-for-gregarious-local-celebrity-sammy-the-elephant-seal-in-3420481",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-26T03:31:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Guardian Australia",
    "slug": "the-guardian-australia",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/26/sammy-elephant-seal-victoria-h5n1-bird-flu-hotspot"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Seals and sea lions often communicate by touch and share spaces with wild birds, placing them at risk of infection from H5N1 virus Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast 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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian",
        "title": "Fears for ‘gregarious’ local celebrity Sammy the elephant seal in Victorian bird flu hotspot",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/fears-for-gregarious-local-celebrity-sammy-the-elephant-seal-in",
        "published": "2026-08-26T03:31:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}