2 tigers at zoo test positive for coronavirus
Two Malayan tigers at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk tested positive for COVID19, officials said Wednesday.
The zoo’s animal care team first observed mild respiratory symptoms, including a dry cough and wheezing, in cats named Stubbley and Osceola last week, according to a zoo news release. The symptoms were consistent with previous cases of COVID-19 at other facilities — including the Bronx Zoo early in the pandemic. All other zoo animals have completely recovered “and the Virginia Zoo expects the same with Stubbley and Osceola.”
Both tigers were preliminarily tested out of an abundance of caution, using nasal swabs and fecal samples that did not require anesthesia, the zoo said. Testing to confirm further is underway.
The zoo’s third tiger, father Christopher, has since developed mild respiratory symptoms and samples from him also have been submitted for testing. No other big cats have shown symptoms.
The tigers have been removed from the exhibit, though zoo officials noted there’s no risk of humans catching the virus from the animals.
“The closest contact a visitor could have to the animal is more than 40 feet,” officials wrote in the release. “The close viewing areas of the tigers, such as their pool or cave, are completely enclosed by glass and rock work. The Zoo is confident that there would be no opportunity to transmit the virus from the tigers to a visitor.”
The zoo said it doesn’t know how its tigers were infected. Officials are working with the Norfolk Health Department, Virginia Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other national experts.
“As of today, both Stubbley and Osceola are in good spirits” officials wrote in the release, thanking staff for quickly identifying the symptoms.