Bird flu sweeps through zoos with ‘grave implications’ for endangered animals

Researchers have warned for decades that this variant of bird flu could kill primates, rodents, pigs and rabbits, with reports of Bengal tigers and clouded leopards also being killed

A Sumatran tiger at Edinburgh Zoo. Dozens of rare animals including tigers, lions and cheetahs are dying as bird flu infiltrates zoos around the world. Photo: RZSS Edinburgh Zoo /PA

Dozens of rare animals including tigers, lions and cheetahs are dying as bird flu infiltrates zoos, with potentially “grave implications” for endangered species, researchers have warned.

As a growing number of zoos report animal deaths, scientists are concerned that infected wild birds landing in enclosures could be spreading it among captive animals.