Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
September 28th is World Rabies Day - not a day to 'celebrate' so much as to raise awareness. And for us as marine biologists, until recently, this was not an event we needed to worry about.
But since 2024, when we first discovered that Cape fur seals were suffering from rabies, we have been worrying about this disease on a daily basis. And there's a lot to be concerned about - from the animals spreading the virus among themselves, largely out of sight at the seal colonies, to the increasing seal-human interactions, particularly as we head into summer and seal season. We are commonly asked, 'How many seals have there been with rabies?' The official number lies around 80, but what does this really mean? The number of animals found with rabies is largely a function of the number of animals tested.
If you don't test, you won't find, and then we don't have a rabies problem.
But we do...
And we need to understand the scale of the issue and manage it where possible, to prevent it from spreading to more animals, more species, or humans.
So whilst the responses are notching up, the protocols are getting sorted and the word is getting out - Where we are focused is the scientific surveillance - to understand who, where and when seals are sick, how they are transmitting rabies, what sick animals look like and ultimately, in a scientific and unbiased way - try to work out prevalence.
What does unbiased surveillance look like? An open mind - where anything is possible - means that any animal, regardless of its suitability, could be tested, and any sick animal should be thoroughly investigated. Reports of animals acting in an unusual way are carefully followed up and documented as case reports, regardless of the outcome. It appears to be a tangled mesh of messy reports containing nuggets of scientific gold that need to be captured. Similarities in the way sick animals behave provide essential insights into likely rabid seals who may not have been sampled, eye witness reports shed light on how to (and how not to ) deal with suspect rabid seals, and biological information tells an insightful story on the life history of sick animals - which, unlike the majority of seals sampled in previous years, are fat and externally healthy, until the final week of life, when their brain is taken over by the virus and their body no longer under their control.
Grant writing and fundraising are essential to support this work and highlight its importance - it's impactful, big-picture science with everyday applications. It's costly, time-consuming, and difficult - working across sectors to capture data and create a cohesive picture - and we are working on this data as new data streams emerge.
Can new technology help these efforts? - perhaps so, as recently collected thermal drone footage clearly demonstrates a likely rabid seal in a South African Colony.....
As we continue to build our understanding of rabies in Cape fur seals, we’re working closely with local and international collaborators and stakeholders to protect both wildlife and coastal communities.
This World Rabies Day, please remember to:
1. Vaccinate your dogs
2 Report sightings of unusual behaviour
3. Avoid touching seal carcasses
4. Watch and enjoy our wildlife from a distance
Tess
Thank you to Adam Yaney-Keller for providing these thermal drone images
September 28th is World Rabies Day - not a day to 'celebrate' so much as to raise awareness. And for us as marine biologists, until recently, this was not an event we needed to worry about.
But since 2024, when we first discovered that Cape fur seals were suffering from rabies, we have been worrying about this disease on a daily basis. And there's a lot to be concerned about - from the animals spreading the virus among themselves, largely out of sight at the seal colonies, to the increasing seal-human interactions, particularly as we head into summer and seal season. We are commonly asked, 'How many seals have there been with rabies?' The official number lies around 80, but what does this really mean? The number of animals found with rabies is largely a function of the number of animals tested.
If you don't test, you won't find, and then we don't have a rabies problem.
But we do...
And we need to understand the scale of the issue and manage it where possible, to prevent it from spreading to more animals, more species, or humans.
So whilst the responses are notching up, the protocols are getting sorted and the word is getting out - Where we are focused is the scientific surveillance - to understand who, where and when seals are sick, how they are transmitting rabies, what sick animals look like and ultimately, in a scientific and unbiased way - try to work out prevalence.
What does unbiased surveillance look like? An open mind - where anything is possible - means that any animal, regardless of its suitability, could be tested, and any sick animal should be thoroughly investigated. Reports of animals acting in an unusual way are carefully followed up and documented as case reports, regardless of the outcome. It appears to be a tangled mesh of messy reports containing nuggets of scientific gold that need to be captured. Similarities in the way sick animals behave provide essential insights into likely rabid seals who may not have been sampled, eye witness reports shed light on how to (and how not to ) deal with suspect rabid seals, and biological information tells an insightful story on the life history of sick animals - which, unlike the majority of seals sampled in previous years, are fat and externally healthy, until the final week of life, when their brain is taken over by the virus and their body no longer under their control.
Grant writing and fundraising are essential to support this work and highlight its importance - it's impactful, big-picture science with everyday applications. It's costly, time-consuming, and difficult - working across sectors to capture data and create a cohesive picture - and we are working on this data as new data streams emerge.
Can new technology help these efforts? - perhaps so, as recently collected thermal drone footage clearly demonstrates a likely rabid seal in a South African Colony.....
As we continue to build our understanding of rabies in Cape fur seals, we’re working closely with local and international collaborators and stakeholders to protect both wildlife and coastal communities.
This World Rabies Day, please remember to:
1. Vaccinate your dogs
2 Report sightings of unusual behaviour
3. Avoid touching seal carcasses
4. Watch and enjoy our wildlife from a distance
Tess
Thank you to Adam Yaney-Keller for providing these thermal drone images
