Bird flu virus a concern as tigers, lions die en masse at Vietnam zoos

The affected zoos are Mango Garden Tourist Area in Dong Nai Province and My Quynh Zoo in Long An Province, both bordering Ho Chi Minh City.

The tigers at Mango Garden Tourist Area reportedly exhibited signs of fatigue and weakness before their deaths.

According to a representative from Mango Garden, 17 tigers, including a few weeks-old cubs, and one leopard died in September. The zoo has collected samples for testing, disinfected the enclosures, and isolated the tiger area to prevent further outbreaks.

Veterinary officials from the Regional Animal Health Office No.6, which oversees HCMC and nearby provinces, conducted clinical examinations and autopsied two deceased Bengal tigers. Preliminary diagnoses suggest the tigers had died from pneumonia.

Bengal tigers at Mango Garden Tourist Area in Bien Hoa City of Dong Nai Province. Photo by VnExpress/Thai Ha

Ngo Van Vinh, Director of the Dong Nai Forest Protection Department, confirmed that the tigers at Mango Garden are licensed. Veterinary teams were dispatched to the site on Wednesday to inspect the area and plan the disposal of the deceased animals.

At My Quynh Zoo in Long An, 27 tigers and three lions died between August and Sept. 16. Three of these animals were purchased from Mango Garden without proper quarantine certificates. Initial suspicions pointed to food poisoning, but tests later confirmed the presence of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

Reports submitted to the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City indicate that 30 employees at Mango Garden and three at My Quynh Zoo had direct contact with the animals. So far, none have shown respiratory symptoms.

Mango Garden houses nearly 90 species, with over 3,000 rare and endangered animals, including Bengal tigers, white lions, brown bears, black panthers, and red pandas. Some species, such as Bengal tigers, rhinoceroses, and hippos, have successfully bred at the zoo.

My Quynh Zoo also shelters rare animals in a semi-wild environment.

H5N1 avian flu is a highly contagious disease that can spread from birds, such as chickens and ducks, to humans and wild animals. The virus causes severe illness with a high mortality rate, and there is no specific treatment or vaccine available. While there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of H5N1, outbreaks have been reported globally since late 2023, including human cases in Cambodia.

In Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has continued to report sporadic cases of avian flu among poultry in several localities.