| Advertisement |
TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Iran says a Siberian tiger that died after being sent to Tehran from Russia was already infected with a fatal respiratory disease when delivered last year. Russia transferred two Amur tigers to Iran's Environmental Protection Organization in April 2010 in exchange for two Persian leopards, RIA Novosti reported Friday.
Advertisement
The male tiger was diagnosed with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and died two weeks ago, the organization said.
The manager of Tehran's Eram Zoo said, however, that the big cat died of glanders, a respiratory infection that is not common in Russia but is widespread in the Middle East.
"The Russian tiger that was brought to the country was itself a carrier of glanders and did not catch the disease in Iran," Amir Elhami told Iran's state English-language Press TV.
The biodiversity program coordinator at WWF-Russia, Vladimir Krever, said the tiger was "absolutely healthy" when it was sent to Iran.
"The tigers underwent complete health checkup before being sent to Iran, and no glanders was detected. Most likely, the tiger was fed with infected meat. Glanders is common in hoofed mammals in Iran," Krever told RIA Novosti.
