Epidemic (animal)

The Icelandic gyrfalcon population has been hit hard by the ongoing wave of avian influenza in recent years. Once numbering around 2,000 birds, the population has now collapsed to roughly 500 individuals, according to Ólafur Karl Nielsen, ornithologist and Iceland’s leading expert on the species.
Nielsen , who has studied falcons and their behavior since 1981, has followed breeding pairs in their nesting territories on Iceland’s northeastern coast for over four decades. Speaking on Dagmál today, he described the situation as “very serious.”
“The flu flared up again this autumn,” he explained. “Seabirds have been dying in large numbers off North Iceland. We received one falcon found dead in September in the Strandir region — it tested positive for avian flu. There’s been no real pause in the outbreaks; it just keeps hitting wave after wave. The virus also changes between outbreaks, so the population never has a chance to recover.”
Nielsen estimates that, based on known falcon territories and the devastating impact on juvenile birds, the current population likely hovers around 500 individuals.

“We can’t just sit on the sidelines”
With the population so diminished, every surviving bird has become “incredibly precious,” Nielsen says. He warns that if nothing is done, the Icelandic gyrfalcon could face extinction, joining the great auk as another of the country’s lost bird species.
He points to successful recovery programs for other raptors in peril — notably the California condor, which rebounded from near extinction after humans intervened with a structured breeding and release program.
“We can’t just sit on the sidelines,” Nielsen insists. “It’s clear that intervention may be necessary if we’re to prevent the falcon from disappearing completely.”