Tigers, lions test positive for COVID-19 in US zoo

A zoo in the United States said on Thursday four more tigers and three lions have tested positive for COVID-19 after the first case of a tiger being infected was reported there earlier in April.

The Bronx Zoo in New York said in a statement the animals were behaving normally.

It said: “All eight cats continue to do well, they are behaving normally, eating well, and their coughing is greatly reduced.”

According to the zoo, faecal tests confirmed that three tigers and three African lions that had exhibited a cough had the infection, as well as a fourth tiger that never developed a cough.

In early April, the management of the zoo reported that a four-year-old female Malayan tiger called Nadia was the first case of a tiger testing positive for the disease.

“Our cats were infected by a staff person who was asymptomatically infected with the virus or before that person developed symptoms.”

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“None of the leopards, cheetahs, pumas or servals are showing signs of illness,” the zoo which has been closed since mid-March added.

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