PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — Two cougars in Washington have died after contracting the state’s first reported cases of bird flu among its species, according to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.
Both wild cougars were young adult males found in Clallam County at the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula, near Sequim and Port Angeles, a spokesperson of WDFW told KOIN 6 News on Friday. Both tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu, after their death.
The first cougar was found November 28, and the other was found December 4, officials with WDFW and Panthera, a wild cat organization, said. One of the cougars was found dead while the other was humanely euthanized after it was found ill.
Orphaned elk raised by Oregon cows accepted by local elk herd
WDFW has also confirmed avian influenza in numerous wild birds in the fall, especially in the western part of the state, amid outbreaks across the United States…