CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden said it temporarily moved at-risk birds indoors to help protect them against the avian flu.
According to a press release, the zoo made the decision to relocate the birds last week after a new case of the avian flu was reported 35 miles away.
“It’s a temporary measure meant to reduce our flock’s exposure to wild birds,” Cincinnati Zoo’s curator of birds and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Task Force leader Jenny Gainer said. "We have established a comprehensive protocol that will guide our decisions on when to return birds to their outdoor spaces.”
According to experts, the threat level should diminish after the spring migration.
The zoo said none of its birds have symptoms of the avian flu at this time.
Birds that were moved indoors include bald eagles, saddle-billed storks, gray crowned cranes, Eurasian eagle owls, barred owls, white-naped pheasant pigeons, little blue penguins, African penguins, trumpeter swans, kea, vultures, guineafowls and Andean condors. The zoo also closed the Birds of World South America and Australasia habitats until further notice.
The avian flu is an infectious disease that causes nasal discharge, weakness and diarrhea in birds.
