Gorakhpur, May 13: Following confirmation of bird flu in a deceased tigress, the Gorakhpur zoo has been shut down for seven days as a precautionary measure, officials said on Tuesday. Zoo Director Vikas Yadav issued the closure order under directives from the chief conservator of forests. The zoo will now reopen to the public on May 21, according to the order. The alarm was raised after the death of tigress Shakti on May 7. Her viscera samples were sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, which confirmed bird flu as the cause of death. Bird Flu Alert: Mass Culling in 3 Districts of Karnataka After Rise in Avian Influenza Cases.

Since then, zoo authorities have been on high alert, fearing the virus may have spread to other animals, a zoo official said. So far, four animal deaths have been reported - a tiger, tigress, leopard, and female wolf. Mona, a female leopard brought from Kanpur four years ago, died on Thursday, the official said. Both Shakti and female wolf Bhairavi exhibited identical symptoms -? low water intake for 24 hours followed by organ failure. Their samples were sent to IVRI Bareilly and NIHSAD Bhopal. Bhairavi's results are awaited, the official added. Bird Flu Outbreak in Jharkhand: Avian Flu Outbreak at Ranchi's State-run Poultry Farm, 2196 Birds Culled.

Meanwhile, a sick tiger named Pataudi was recently transferred to the Kanpur zoo, raising concerns about the potential spread of the virus there. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath chaired a high-level meeting in Lucknow on Tuesday, and directed officials to enforce maximum vigilance across all zoos in the state, taking the potential threat of H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) seriously.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)