CORONAVIRUS NEWS: TIGER AT BRONX ZOO IN NEW YORK CITY TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
Updated 2 hours ago
A tiger at New York City’s Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19.
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) – A tiger at New York City’s Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19, the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement Sunday.
The tiger, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger named Nadia, developed a dry cough and a decrease in appetite. She was tested out of an abundance of caution, and the results were confirmed by the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa, the society said.
Her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions also showed coronavirus symptoms, but all of the cats, including Nadia, are expected to recover.
None of the zoo’s snow leopards, cheetahs, clouded leopard, Amur leopard, puma or serval are showing any signs of illness.
The zoo said the cats were infected by a person caring for them who was asymptomatically infected with the virus or before that person developed symptoms. Appropriate preventive measures are now in place for all staff who are caring for them, and the other cats in the four WCS zoos, to prevent further exposure of any other zoo cats.
Nadia and Azul became visitor favorites after their appearance on Animal Planet’s 2017 docu-series “The Zoo.”
It is unknown how COVID-19 develops in big cats. There is also no evidence that animals can infect people with the virus.
The Bronx Zoo has been temporarily closed since March 16.