The Department of Livestock Development is expediting post-mortem examinations after 72 tigers at Mae Rim Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai and a second facility in Mae Taeng district were reported to have died unusually since early February 2026. The Mae Rim site has announced a temporary 14-day closure.

According to a report by Protected Area Regional Office 16 (Chiang Mai), between February 8 and February 19, a total of 72 tigers died across the two facilities—21 at the Mae Rim site and 51 at the Mae Taeng site.

Following the incident, a veterinary disease investigation team from the Chiang Mai Provincial Livestock Office inspected the Mae Rim Tiger Kingdom, collected samples from tiger carcasses and feed, and sent them to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Chiang Mai University for detailed analysis.

Meanwhile, the remaining live tigers were relocated for quarantine and care at a nursing centre in Mae Taeng district.

Laboratory results reported to the Department of Livestock Development and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation initially confirmed that no genetic material of influenza A virus was detected. 

However, samples from the tigers tested positive for canine distemper virus (CDV)—a virus that causes canine distemper in canids and can also be found in large wild cats—along with Mycoplasma spp., bacteria associated with respiratory disease. 

Co-infection can lead to severe pneumonia and complications, which is believed to have contributed to the large number of deaths.

The disease can affect the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, and in some cases may progress to the nervous system. Authorities stressed that CDV is not a zoonotic disease, so the public does not need to worry about transmission to humans.