BY ALEX MITCHELL
Not even New York City’s
wildlife is safe from COVID-19.
A four-year-old female Malayan
tiger at the Bronx Zoo
contracted COVID-19 from an
asymptomatic zoo employee
while six other jungle cats also
fell ill, the Wildlife Conservation
Society announced yesterday
evening.
The tiger, Nadia, began
showing signs of sickness
eleven days after the zoo’s
Monday, March 16th closure
and was tested out of “an abundance
of caution,” according to
WCS.
Nadia is the fi rst tiger to
contract COVID-19, according
to the United States Department
of Agriculture, which
tested Nadia in an Ames, IA
laboratory.
“It is not known how this
disease will develop in big cats
since different species can react
differently to novel infections,
but we will continue to
monitor them closely and anticipate
full recoveries,” the
zoo said in a release.
Nadia’s sister tiger Azul,
two Amur tigers, and three
African lions each developed
a dry cough and appetite suppression
as part of their own
respiratory illnesses, but are
“doing well under veterinary
care and are bright, alert, and
interactive with their keepers,”
and are also expected to
recover, according to WCS.
“Appropriate preventive
measures are now in place
for all staff who are caring for
them,” the zoo stated.
Each of the affl icted tigers
live in close confi nes to one another
within the Bronx Zoo’s
Tiger Mountain exhibit while
tigers at another exhibit along
with the zoo’s snow leopards,
cheetahs, clouded leopard,
Amur leopard, puma or serval
are not showing symptoms of
illness.
The zoo also stated that
“there is no evidence that animals
Nadia, the 4-year-old female Malayan tiger that tested positive for COVID-19 at the Bronx Zoo.
(Photo by WCS/Julie Larsen Maher
BRONX TIMES R 8 EPORTER, APR. 10-16, 2020 BTR
play a role in the transmission
of COVID-19 to people
other than the initial event in
the Wuhan market, and no evidence
that any person has been
infected with COVID-19 in the
US by animals, including by
pet dogs or cats.”
Meanwhile, the USDA indicated
“there have not been
reports of pets becoming sick
with COVID-19 in the United
States.”
Despite this uncertainty
over inter-species transmission,
caution is urged, and it
remains recommended that
people sick with COVID-19
limit contact with animals until
more information is known
about the virus.
A Bronx Zoo tiger
contracted COVID-19
from a worker
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Bronx Arts and Science Charter School
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GRADES K-3
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