The Department of Natural Resources confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, was found in a merganser recovered in early February along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Milwaukee County.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced Friday, Feb. 14 that laboratory tests have identified the H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) in a wild merganser collected from Milwaukee County last week.

In an announcement, the zoo said the closure "is out of an abundance of caution meant to protect our avian population from HPAI, commonly known as Avian Influenza, after recent, suspicious bird deaths on the Chicago shores of Lake Michigan."