LUCKNOW: The pathology report of Asiatic lion Pataudi, who died at Kanpur Zoo on Thursday, confirmed H5N1 (Avian Influenza) commonly known as bird flu, to be the cause of the feline’s demise.
Pataudi was at Ashfaq Ullah Khan Zoo in Gorakhpur and was shifted to Kanpur Zoo for treatment on May 11 after a tigress named Shakti died of bird flu on May 7, causing a state-wide alert.
Meanwhile, after test reports from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases(NIHSAD), Bhopal, confirmed bird flu as the cause of Pataudi’s death late Thursday night, Kanpur Zoo cremated the tiger in an electric furnace. Samples of the liver, intestines, and saliva were preserved for further tests, and the entire process was video-recorded by the authorities.
Notably, the zoos in Lucknow, Kanpur, and Gorakhpur, along with the Etawah Lion Safari, were shut till May 20 amid bird flu concerns.
After Pataudi’s death, fogging and sanitisation were intensified near the animal enclosure and the entire premises of Kanpur zoo, said Kanpur Zoo ranger Naved Ikram. Moreover, additional samples from animals have been collected and sent for testing.
As per the informed sources, Pataudi, 15, was brought to Etawah Lion Safari from Junagarh in Gujarat in September, 2019. After spending two years in Etawah Lion Safari, Pataudi was relocated in Gorakhpur zoo in 2021.
The wildlife authorities claimed that the lion was under treatment of pancreatic and hepatic infections. For the last two days, the feline had stopped consuming food and was surviving only on water. He was administered with intravenous medication, and an examination of the animal was conducted by the veterinary doctors on Wednesday.
According to Dr Nasir, who had been supervising the team of four veterinary doctors of the state animal husbandry department attending Pataudi, the lion had consumed a kg of chicken upon his arrival in Kanpur Zoo on May 11. However, he stopped eating anything from Tuesday onwards.