A wildlife conservation for big cats in Washington has lost more than half of the animals at its sanctuary after they contracted bird flu.
The Wild Felid Advocacy Center announced late last week that 20 big cats were killed around Thanksgiving shortly after they started showing signs of being sick.
Cats are particularly vulnerable to contracting bird flu and can die as quickly as 24 hours after becoming infected, the center said.
The following animals died from the outbreak: 1 Amur/Bengal Tiger, 4 Cougars, 1 African Caracal, 2 Canada Lynx, 1 Geoffroy Cat, 1 Bengal Cat, 1 Eurasian Lynx, 4 Bobcats, and 5 African Servals.
The center said that the virus is carried by wild birds and spreads through respiratory secretions, bird-to-bird contact, and carnivorous mammals that ingest birds.
The center announced that it was closed indefinitely while it quarantined the other animals and worked to…
