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OAN Staff Blake Wolf
5:53 PM – Thursday, December 26, 2024
A wildlife sanctuary in Washington state suffered the loss of 20 big cats due to the bird flu virus, the sanctuary announced, calling the deaths a heartbreaking “significant loss.”
A Bengal tiger, four cougars, two Canada lynx, four bobcats, five African servals, a Amur/Bengal tiger, an African caracal, a Eurasian lynx, and a smaller Geoffroy’s cat are among the now-deceased felines as a highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as the bird flu, has spread across the U.S. through poultry flocks and dairy herds.
“Urgent Announcement: HPAI Outbreak at Our Sanctuary. We are heartbroken to share that animal health officials have confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among over half of our wild felids as of December 2024. This devastating viral infection, carried by wild birds, spreads primarily through respiratory secretions and bird-to bird contact and can also be contracted by carnivorous mammals that ingest birds or other products,” the Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington posted on their Facebook account.
“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. To protect our remaining animals and prevent further spread, our sanctuary is under quarantine and will remain closed to the public until further notice,” the announcement continued.
“We’ve never had anything like it; they usually die basically of old age,” stated Wild Felid Advocacy Center director, Mark Mathews. “Not something like this, it’s a pretty wicked virus.”
Mathews noted that the first cat became noticeably sick around the time of Thanksgiving, and by early December, it was determined that the felines had been infected with bird flu.
“This tragedy has deeply affected our team, and we are all grieving the loss of these incredible animals,” the sanctuary stated.
Mathews continued, explaining that the sanctuary previously took care of 37 cats, but they are now down to just 17, as the bird flu has taken the lives of its animals.
“Every day, it’s just kind of you wake up and you think hopefully it’s a bad dream, but it’s not,” he added.
Many of the cats who tragically passed away had been featured on the sanctuary’s website.
Hannah, a cougar, was brought to the sanctuary as a cub from Wyoming after her mother was killed. She was described as “sweet,” enjoying “sneaking up on volunteers.” A Geoffroy’s cat named “Mouse,” one of the smallest felines living at the sanctuary, “captures the hearts of everyone who meets her,” the website continued. Tabbi, a half Bengal and half Amur tiger, enjoyed “playing in the water,” the website added.
The depressing announcement comes at a time when zoos across the country have begun taking precautionary measures to combat the spread of the bird flu, as five other zoo animals have died from the bird flu outside of Phoenix, Arizona, along with another death at a Seattle zoo.
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