New Delhi: The death of several big cats in the Northeastern and eastern region of India, including a lion in Darjeeling zoo has rung alarm bells among the environmentalists who fear that a deadly killer virus is taking the lives of the big animals.
Within this year two lion cubs at a zoo in Patna were reported to have tested positive. A red panda in Manipur, a tiger in West Bengal and a lion in Darjeeling have died due to this virus.
Conservationists were alarmed that many tigers in India had recently tested positive for the deadly virus that commonly affects dogs.
“These are very disturbing finds,” according to Dr AK Sharma, head scientist at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, which performed the canine distemper lab tests.
“The cases were quite distant from each other and the latest was an area where there are no dogs. So it appears the virus is spreading,” he said.
India will now test every tiger carcass it finds for the virus. Authorities are also considering a massive campaign to vaccinate dogs against canine distemper, at least those found close to wildlife sanctuaries.
The deadly canine virus has no known cure. While dogs can recover from the disease, other animals, especially big cats including tigers, lions and leopards, suffer fever, seizures and delirium before they die, one report said.
Rapid population growth and shrinking of forest zones are bringing humans and dogs into closer contact with wildlife that contribute to the rapid spread of the canine disease, the report said. Experts have said that instead of trying to hunt down the affected dogs, the country should focus on other proven threats like poaching, prey loss to hunting and human encroachment into forests.
According to the recent census, 2010-11 saw a rise in tiger population from 1,411 to 1,706, but tigers are still under threat from poaching and a sharp decline in their habitat area.The report said that tiger habitat had reduced from 93,687 to 81,881 sq km in the four years the census was conducted.