Scientists are vaccinating albatrosses by hand to beat bird flu

Wildlife biologists on a remote Tasmanian island have started catching shy albatrosses by hand to vaccinate them against the H5N1 bird flu, one bird at a time. The pilot project on Albatross Island aims to give two doses each to up to 100 birds, who are then marked with nontoxic paint and tracked by remote camera. It is slow work. Teams in head-to-toe hazmat suits pick up each albatross, weigh it, administer a shot and leave a numbered marker at its nest. Most wild birds are far too mobile to recapture for a second dose, but nesting albatrosses stay put, offering what environment minister Guy Barnett called a "unique opportunity." The albatrosses remain healthy so far. Tasmania recorded its first bird flu case in August, and detections have since risen to 50 events. An estimated 15,000 breeding pairs live across three windswept islets in the Bass Strait, and officials would rather not wait to find out how vulnerable they are.