Twenty big cats – including a Bengal tiger and four cougars – have died of bird flu over the past several weeks at an animal sanctuary in the state of Washington.
The animals died between late November and mid-December, the sanctuary’s director, Mark Mathews, told the New York Times.
The news comes as bird flu continues to spread among cattle and poultry in the US, while also severely infecting at least one human.
Bird flu has long infected poultry flocks in the US.
Most have reported mild symptoms, though one person was taken to the hospital with a severe case of bird flu in Louisiana this month.
Twenty big cats – including a Bengal tiger and four cougars – have died of bird flu over the past several weeks at an animal sanctuary in the state of Washington.
“This tragedy has deeply affected our team, and we are all grieving the loss of these incredible animals,” the Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington wrote in a post on Facebook.
The devastating viral infection, carried by wild birds, spreads primarily through respiratory secretions and bird-to-bird contact and can also be contracted by mammals that ingest birds or other products.
The sanctuary is under quarantine and is closed to the public to prevent the spread of the virus, the statement said.
The director of the sanctuary, Mark Mathews, told the New York Times that the animals passed away between late November and mid-December.
“They usually die basically of old age; we’ve never had anything like it,” he stated. “It’s a pretty nasty virus, not something like this. “.
The announcement comes as bird flu is still spreading among US cattle and poultry and has seriously infected at least one person.
Among other things, the sanctuary reported losing a Bengal tiger, two Canada lynx, four bobcats, and five African serval cats. There are currently just 17 cats left at the Center.
The sanctuary said in a Facebook statement on Friday that “cats are particularly vulnerable to this virus, which can cause subtle initial symptoms but progress rapidly, often resulting in death within 24 hours due to pneumonia-like conditions.”.
Poultry flocks in the United States have long been afflicted by bird flu. However, in March, the virus started to infect cattle in the United States.
Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 61 human cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States since April 2024.
There hasn’t been any persistent human-to-human transmission, according to the CDC, and the risk to the general public is still minimal.
Though one person in Louisiana was admitted to the hospital this month with a severe case of bird flu, the majority have reported only mild symptoms.
The outbreak among dairy cows in California prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare an emergency last week in order to give the government the “resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak.”.
