LODI, Calif. — Visitors at the Micke Grove Zoo in Lodi will no longer be able to walk through the zoo’s aviary exhibit due to concerns of bird flu.
The zoo says the U.S. is dealing with a form of bird flu that is dangerous to all birds, so they’re closing the Gardner Mediterranean Aviary to walk-through traffic. Visitors will still be able to see birds from outside the aviary.
So far, the H5N1 bird flu has not been found in San Joaquin County, but the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported cases in three wild birds in Colusa and Glenn counties last week.
Those three cases were the first time the H5N1 strain was found in California.
CDFW says there’s concern about the strain due to it infecting a ‘higher diversity of wild bird species,’ than previous strains. It’s also highly contagious for domestic poultry, but no cases of bird flu in domestic poultry in California have been identified yet.
