BANGKOK — Eighty-six tigers that were seized three years ago from Thailand’s notorious Tiger Temple over concerns that they were being mistreated have died in the government’s care, Thai officials said Monday.

That leaves only 61 surviving tigers from the 147 that were taken from the sprawling Buddhist temple compound, an unlicensed zoo that promoted close contact between tourists and tigers, including feeding the animals by hand and taking photos with them.

Officials from Thailand’s Department of National Parks said that the main cause of the deaths was laryngeal paralysis, an upper respiratory condition that interferes with breathing. Canine distemper was a secondary cause of death, and the stress of the tigers’ relocation was also a factor, they said.

Edwin Wiek, founder of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, said the death of so many tigers could have been averted. He said he had advised the department at the time to take preventive steps, such as placing cages farther apart so that diseases could not spread easily among the tigers.