Asian tigers are facing a potentially deadly threat from a virus carried by domestic dogs, a wildlife expert with a British organization has warned. John Lewis, director of Wildlife Vets International, said there was evidence that Indonesian tigers were at risk from canine distemper virus, which has evolved in recent decades into a form that can infect other animals groups. \"If you wind the clock back about 30 or 40 years, it was a dog disease -- it was a canine virus and only affected dogs,\" Lewis told the BBC. \"But in the intervening years, the virus has evolved and has changed its pattern of animals it can infect to include marine mammals (such as seals) and big cats.\" The first case of the disease affecting wild big cats was documented close to two decades ago, he said. \"In the mid-1990s, in the Serengeti, Africa, about 30 percent of the lions died from CDV, which came from dogs in surrounding villages. \"It has [now] also been recognized in the Asian big cat populations,\" he said. Lewis said conversations with local wildlife vets on his recent visit to Sumatra seemed to indicate CDV could already be present in the population of the critically endangered Sumatran tiger. \"The big threats facing tigers are habitat loss and degradation and poaching, but I think the third big threat now is likely to be disease, particularly one like CDV.\"
GMT 11:09 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Dimming the Sun to cool Earth could ravage wildlifeGMT 06:13 2018 Saturday ,20 January
Facebook top choice for Philippines wildlife tradersGMT 07:20 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Wolf found in northern Belgium, first time in over 100 yearsGMT 01:21 2017 Friday ,17 November
Malaysia rescues 140 pangolins from suspected smugglersGMT 20:14 2017 Thursday ,26 October
'Idiots of the century' swim in baited croc trapGMT 20:09 2017 Thursday ,26 October
India man-eating tiger dies after being electrocutedGMT 19:24 2017 Thursday ,26 October
Human remains found in large Australian crocGMT 19:19 2017 Thursday ,26 October
Japan zoo mourns death of love-struck penguinMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor