New York: The COVID-19 virus is also creating an upheaval in the animal kingdom. Two weeks after a tiger tested positive for coronavirus at the Bronx Zoo, four tigers and three lions have also tested positive.
On April 15, the zoo authorities had issued a statement that a four-year-old Malaya species tiger had tested positive for coronavirus. It had also said that some other animals were showing signs of symptoms of COVID-19.
“Subsequently, we can confirm that the three other tigers in Tiger Mountain and the three African lions that exhibited a cough have also tested positive for COVID-19. This testing was done by using a fecal sample test developed by our laboratory partners that does not require the animals to be placed under anesthesia,” the zoo authorities were quoted as saying by the media here.
The fact that the big cats are young is going in their favour, which also means they have better immunity. Perhaps that is why they are not showing any signs of discomfort and have not shown any signs of cough or cold, said zoo officials.
“We tested the tigers and lions out of an abundance of caution. We will share any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 and will contribute to the world’s continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus. The tests of the cats were done in veterinary laboratories,” said zoo officials adding that the resources used for testing the big cats were not taken from laboratories used for human testing.
