70 Lions in Serengeti Killed by Distemper
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NAIROBI, Kenya — About 70 lions in Serengeti National Park have died from the canine distemper virus, and many more are infected, Tanzania’s parks director said Tuesday.
First detected in December, the virus has been confined so far to the central Serengeti and has not spread to other parts of the 5,600-square-mile park, one of the world’s largest and most famous game preserves.
“It is the first time we have had such massive deaths of lions in this country,” said Gerald Bigurube, Tanzania’s director of parks.
There are an estimated 2,000 lions in the park.
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