{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T22:00:49Z","timestamp":1791237649018,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"American Association of Zoo Veterinarians","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Pathology of wild northern fur seals (NFS) (Callorhinus ursinus) is well documented; however, data on NFS under professional care are limited. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate causes of morbidity and mortality in 67 NFS housed in long-term professional care in United States aquaria from 1976\u20132022, including individuals born in the wild and those born in professional care. A review of necropsy and histopathology records was conducted to identify causes of morbidity and mortality, as well as associations among age, sex, and wild versus aquarium birth origin. Major causes of mortality included infectious diseases (n = 12), hemochromatosis (n = 10), undetermined (n = 10), and cardiovascular diseases (n = 8). Cause of mortality was significantly associated with sex (p = 0.015). Hemochromatosis and hepatic causes of mortality were identified exclusively in females. Infectious diseases were the most identified major cause of mortality and included septicemia (n = 7), toxoplasmosis (n = 3), leptospirosis (n = 1), and suppurative meningitis (n = 1). Of the septicemia cases, three were confirmed to be caused by Pasteurella sp. Hemochromatosis was the predominant cause of death in ten females from 8\u201325 years of age, with histopathology identifying hemochromatosis as a comorbidity in an additional male NFS. Hemosiderosis was a common finding in hepatic (n = 19), splenic (n = 15), lymph node (n = 6), ovarian (n = 3), bone marrow (n = 2), pulmonary (n = 1), and pancreatic (n = 1) tissues. In addition to hemosiderosis, the most common comorbidities affected the hepatobiliary (n = 36), urinary (n = 33), respiratory (n = 26), and lymphatic (n = 23) systems. While hemochromatosis has been previously reported in NFS, this is the first study to describe the prevalence in a professionally managed population. This study expands on the understanding of pathology in NFS to further improve medical management in professional care.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1638\/2024-0140","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,4]],"date-time":"2026-01-04T07:32:47Z","timestamp":1767511967000},"page":"38-46","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN NORTHERN FUR SEALS (CALLORHINUS URSINUS) IN UNITED STATES AQUARIA FROM 1976\u20132022"],"prefix":"10.1638","volume":"57","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1756-1237","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura E. W.","family":"Whalen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Molly E.","family":"Martony","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura A.","family":"Thompson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eric T.","family":"Anderson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melissa J.","family":"Joblon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Todd L.","family":"Schmitt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Catherine A.","family":"Hadfield","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Allison D.","family":"Tuttle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1213","reference":[{"key":"1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"CJ Bonar, JG Trupkiewicz, B Toddes, et al.  \"J Zoo Wildl Med.\"  37, \"Iron storage disease in tapirs.\" 49 (2006)","DOI":"10.1638\/03-032.1"},{"key":"29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"KC Prager, DJ Greig, DP Alt, et al.  \"Vet Microbiol.\"  164, \"Asymptomatic and chronic carriage of Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus).\" 177 (2013)","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetmic.2013.01.032"},{"key":"3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"M Clauss  and DE. 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Worth  \"CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine.\"  \"Nutrition and Energetics.\" 725 (2018)"},{"key":"32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"AW Smith, RJ Brown, DE Skilling, et al.  \"J Wildl Dis.\"  13, \"Naturally occurring leptospirosis in northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus).\" 144 (1977)","DOI":"10.7589\/0090-3558-13.2.144"},{"key":"33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"T Spraker  and M Lander  \"J Wildl Dis.\"  46, \"Causes of mortality in northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1986-2006.\" 450 (2010)","DOI":"10.7589\/0090-3558-46.2.450"},{"key":"34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"KE Sullivan, ND Mylniczenko, SE Nelson, et al.  \"Animals.\"  10, \"Practical management of iron overload disorder (IOD) in black rhinoceros (BR; Diceros bicornis).\" 1991 (2020)","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10111991"},{"key":"35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"FD Torres, AL Borges, C Kolesnikovas, et al.  \"Res Vet Sci.\"  155, \"Pinnipeds carriers of pathogenic Leptospira: New data based on molecular characterization.\" 62 (2023)","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rvsc.2022.12.012"},{"key":"36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"S Venn-Watson, C Benham, K Carlin, et al.  \"J Zoo Wildl Med.\"  43, \"Hemochromatosis and fatty liver disease: building evidence for insulin resistance in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus).\" 835 (2012)","DOI":"10.1638\/2011-0146.1"},{"key":"37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"FF Wang, YF Han, XY Liang, et al.  \"Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol.\"  27, \"Aging-induced atrial fibrosis in If current change and its effect on atrial fibrillation in dogs.\" 1 (2022)","DOI":"10.1111\/anec.12951"},{"key":"38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"P Wickens  and AE York  \"Mar Mammal Sci.\"  13, \"Comparative Population Dynamics of Fur Seals.\" 241 (1997)","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1748-7692.1997.tb00631.x"},{"key":"39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Z Zhou, HIAO Lopez, GE Perez, et al.  \"Curr Probl Cardiol.\"  46, \"Toxoplasmosis and the heart.\" 100741 (2021)","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpcardiol.2020.100741"},{"key":"31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"KE Simpson, BC Devine, D Gunn-Moore,  \"J Feline Med Surg.\"  7, \"Suspected toxoplasma-associated myocarditis in a cat.\" 203 (2005)","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfms.2004.08.004"},{"key":"2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"CE Cameron, RL Zuerner, S Raverty, et al.  \"J Clin Microbiol.\"  46, \"Detection of pathogenic Leptospira bacteria in pinniped populations via PCR and identification of a source of transmission for zoonotic leptospirosis in the marine environment.\" 1728 (2008)","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.02022-07"},{"key":"13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"KM Glenn, JL Campbell, D Rotstein, et al.  \"Am J Primatol.\"  68, \"Retrospective evaluation of the incidence and severity of hemosiderosis in a large captive lemur population.\" 369 (2006)","DOI":"10.1002\/ajp.20231"},{"key":"4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"AM Colagross-Schouten, JAK Mazet, FMD Gulland, et al.  \"J Wildl Dis.\"  38, \"Diagnosis and seroprevalence of leptospirosis in California sea lions from coastal California.\" 7 (2002)","DOI":"10.7589\/0090-3558-38.1.7"},{"key":"19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"MJ Joblon, JE Flower, LA Thompson, et al.  \"J Zoo Wildl Med.\"  53, \"Investigation of the use of serum biomarkers for the detection of cardiac disease in marine mammals.\" 373 (2022)","DOI":"10.1638\/2021-0152"}],"container-title":["Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T21:28:51Z","timestamp":1791235731000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bioone.org\/journals\/journal-of-zoo-and-wildlife-medicine\/volume-57\/issue-1\/2024-0140\/A-RETROSPECTIVE-ANALYSIS-OF-MORBIDITY-AND-MORTALITY-IN-NORTHERN-FUR\/10.1638\/2024-0140.full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,4]]},"references-count":39,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1638\/2024-0140","relation":{},"ISSN":["1042-7260","1937-2825"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1042-7260","type":"print"},{"value":"1937-2825","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,4]]}}}