Three tigers, leopard die of avian flu at rescue centre in Maharashtra's Nagpur; zoos on alert

Nagpur: Three tigers and a leopard died of avian influenza at an animal rescue centre in Maharashtra's Nagpur, prompting the authorities to put zoos on alert, an official said on Monday.

Following the deaths that occurred at the end of last month, the Central government has issued an advisory, directing zoos to take precautionary measures, the official said.

Shatanik Bhagwat, divisional manager of the Gorewada project, said the animals had been relocated to Gorewada Rescue Centre from Chandrapur following incidents of man-animal conflict.

He said the big cats died at the centre at the end of December.

Bhagwat said the tigers were brought to the rescue centre in the second week of December, while the leopard had been housed there since May.

The animals showed different symptoms but limped and suffered from fever in the third week of December, he said, adding that their samples were sent to Bhopal for testing, and the test reports that arrived on January 2 confirmed they were positive for the H5N1 virus.

He said the disinfection process is underway according to the Central and state government guidelines.