Bird flu ripped by means of a Washington state wildlife sanctuary, killing 20 huge cats, the middle mentioned in a Facebook put up, calling the deaths a “vital loss.”
The first cat acquired sick round Thanksgiving, Mark Mathews, director of the Wild Felid Advocacy Center in Shelton, informed NBC affiliate KING-TV of Seattle. By early December, the state had confirmed instances of chook flu of their cats.
In a Facebook post Friday, the sanctuary introduced the deaths. They embody 5 African servals, 4 cougars, 4 bobcats, two Canada lynx and one every of the next: Bengal cat, Amur/Bengal tiger, African caracal, Geoffroy’s cat and Eurasian lynx.
“This tragedy has deeply affected our staff, and we’re all grieving the lack of these unbelievable animals,” the sanctuary mentioned, asking the group for help.
Mathews informed KING-TV that on the finish of November, he had 37 cats and now he has 17.
Some of the cats have been featured on the sanctuary’s website. Tabbi, an endangered half-Bengal and half-Amur tiger, loved enjoying within the water, the positioning states. Hannah, a cougar, was dropped at the sanctuary as a cub from Wyoming after her mom was killed. The web site described Hannah as “candy” and mentioned she favored “sneaking up on volunteers.” Mouse, a Geoffroy’s cat and one of many smallest animals on the sanctuary, captured the hearts of everybody who met her, the web site said.
Mathews informed KING-TV that the deaths have been a residing nightmare.
“Every day, it’s simply sort of you get up and also you assume hopefully it’s a foul dream, however it’s not,” he mentioned.
Health officers confirmed that greater than half of the sanctuary’s animals had contracted avian influenza, the Facebook put up said. The virus primarily spreads by means of contaminated chook secretions and droppings. Carnivorous mammals can contract it by coming into contact with contaminated birds or a contaminated setting.
The sanctuary mentioned cats are notably weak to chook flu and signs can progress quickly, “usually leading to loss of life inside 24 hours on account of pneumonia-like situations.”
To defend the opposite animals and forestall additional unfold, the sanctuary is underneath quarantine and can stay closed till additional discover.
The deaths come as zoos throughout the nation have began taking precautionary measures. Five zoo animals died from chook flu exterior Phoenix and one animal died at a zoo in Seattle.
