Tigress death triggers bird flu scare, Gorakhpur zoo closed for week

Gorakhpur: Following confirmation that bird flu led to death of a tigress, Gorakhpur zoo is closed for seven days as precautionary measure. Zoo director Vikas Yadav issued closure order under directives of chief conservator of forests. The zoo will open to public on May 21.

The alarm was raised after death of tigress Shakti on May 7. Her viscera samples were sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, MP, which confirmed bird flu as cause of death. Since then, zoo authorities have been on high alert. So far, death of four animal has been reported, including a tiger, tigress, leopard, and a female wolf. Mona, a leopardess brought from Kanpur four years ago, died on Thursday. On Wednesday morning, tigress Shakti died and on Saturday, female wolf Bhairavi also passed away. On Mar 30, tiger Kesari died under similar circumstances.

Both, Shakti and Bhairavi, exhibited identical symptoms — low water intake for 24 hours followed by organ failure. Their samples were sent to IVRI Bareilly and NIHSAD Bhopal. The report for Shakti confirmed bird flu, while Bhairavi's results are awaited. Sick tiger named Pataudi was recently transferred to Kanpur zoo, raising concerns about potential spread of the virus there. tnn