American Marconi Wireless News - Virus kills dozens of tigers in Thailand park

NYSE - LSE

CMSC	-0.84%	21.102	$
CMSD	-0.67%	20.98	$
RELX	1.48%	35.91	$
RBGPF	0%	68.56	$
RYCEF	-1.23%	20.25	$
BCE	-0.3%	23.71	$
RIO	2.97%	105.3	$
AZN	0.9%	165.98	$
NGG	-1.08%	79.76	$
VOD	-0.31%	15.96	$
GSK	0.86%	52.41	$
BTI	-0.87%	56.21	$
BCC	0.85%	82.47	$
JRI	-0.24%	12.38	$
BP	-0.85%	44.76	$

Virus kills dozens of tigers in Thailand park / Photo: Mladen ANTONOV - AFP/File

Virus kills dozens of tigers in Thailand park

NATURE 21.02.2026

A deadly virus and bacterial infection have killed at least 72 tigers at a private animal park in Thailand's north in recent weeks, authorities said.

Text size:

The provincial livestock office in Chiang Mai said in a statement on Friday that testing detected the highly infectious canine distemper virus as well as bacteria affecting the respiratory system.

"When tigers fall ill, it is more difficult to detect than in animals like cats or dogs. By the time we realised they were sick, it was already too late," Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, director of the national livestock department, told local media.

The park where the deaths occurred, Tiger Kingdom, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

Its website advertises a chance for visitors to touch and take photos with the big cats.

"These tigers died the way they lived -- in misery, confinement and fear," animal rights organisation PETA Asia told AFP.

"If tourists stayed away, these places would quickly become unprofitable, and tragedies like this would be far less likely to happen," the group added.

D.Sawyer--AMWN

American Marconi Wireless News - Virus kills dozens of tigers in Thailand park

Virus kills dozens of tigers in Thailand park

Featured

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

Heatwave-hit Europe logs over 30,000 excess summer deaths: first figures

'I'll adapt': First pregnant candidate navigates French presidential race

Europe heatwaves scorch 80 million with 40 C heat: AFP analysis