Probe under way after illness kills 72 tigers in Thai tourist park
#Tiger deaths#Canine distemper virus#Chiang Mai Thailand#Tiger Kingdom#Wildlife disease#Animal tourism#Thailand wildlife
📌 Key Takeaways
72 tigers died at Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai in less than two weeks
Canine distemper virus was confirmed as the cause of death
The source of the outbreak remains under investigation
The incident highlights concerns about captive wildlife facilities and disease vulnerability
📖 Full Retelling
Authorities in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, are investigating the deaths of 72 tigers at Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai, a popular tourist attraction where visitors can interact with the animals, after the big cats succumbed to a mysterious illness in less than two weeks this month. The local livestock department confirmed that samples from the deceased tigers tested positive for canine distemper virus, a highly contagious disease that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. While typically found in dogs, this virus can be fatal for big cats. Authorities have not yet determined the source of the outbreak, though preliminary tests initially suggested feline parvovirus. The deceased tigers represented approximately 30% of the total tiger population across Tiger Kingdom's two facilities in Chiang Mai. Director of the national livestock department Somchuan Ratanamungklanon noted that detecting sickness in tigers is more challenging than in domestic animals, stating, 'By the time we realised they were sick, it was already too late.' The remains have been cremated and buried, while staff are being monitored for 21 days as a precaution. Tiger Kingdom has been temporarily closed for two weeks as officials conduct disinfection work.
Canine distemper (CDV) (sometimes termed "footpad disease") is a viral disease that affects a wide variety of mammal families, including domestic and wild species of dogs, coyotes, foxes, pandas, wolves, ferrets, skunks, raccoons, and felines, as well as pinnipeds, some primates, and a variety of ot...
Wildlife disease is an abnormal health condition affecting a wild animal species. In many cases, wildlife hosts can act as a reservoir of diseases that spillover into domestic animals, people and other species. Wildlife diseases spread through both direct contact between two individual animals or in...
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Original Source
Probe under way after illness kills 72 tigers in Thai tourist park 3 hours ago Share Save Koh Ewe Share Save Authorities in Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand, are investigating the deaths of dozens of tigers at a popular tourist attraction this month. Seventy-two tigers died in the span of less than two weeks across two facilities of Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai, a park where visitors can touch and interact with tigers. The local livestock department said samples from the tigers showed canine distemper virus - though authorities have not confirmed how the outbreak happened. Officials said on Monday that they had cremated and buried the remains of the tigers. They were among more than 240 tigers living across the two facilities at Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai, according to local media. "By the time we realised they were sick, it was already too late," Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, director of the national livestock department, told local media - noting that it was harder to detect sickness in tigers compared to animals like cats or dogs. The provincial livestock office in Chiang Mai said last week that samples from the tigers' carcasses tested positive for canine distemper virus, as well as a bacteria associated with respiratory disease. Canine distemper virus is a highly contagious disease that attacks the host's respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems. While it is typically found among dogs, it can also infect big cats - often fatally. The provincial livestock office had earlier said preliminary tests showed the tigers had been infected with feline parvovirus. Some local officials had also initially suspected the outbreak might have stemmed from contaminated raw chicken meat fed to the tigers, the Bangkok Post reported. Raw chicken was also suspected as the cause of a major bird flu outbreak at a tiger zoo in Chonburi province in 2004. In that case, nearly 150 tigers died or were euthanised to prevent further spread of the influenza. The disease control depart...
