Seven more big cats test positive for coronavirus at Bronx Zoo
Following a National Geographic inquiry, the zoo confirms that four more tigers and three lions have the virus. This comes the same day as two pet cats in New York become the first in the U.S. to test positive.
Four more tigers and three lions at the Bronx Zoo in New York City have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, the zoo announced Wednesday afternoon, following a National Geographic inquiry. This comes nearly three weeks after one tiger at the zoo was confirmed to have the virus and six other cats were said to be exhibiting symptoms.
The diagnosis of the tiger, named Nadia, represented “the first time, to our knowledge, that a [wild] animal has gotten sick from COVID-19 from a person,” Paul Calle, chief veterinarian for the Bronx Zoo, said April 5. The big cats likely contracted the coronavirus from an infected but asymptomatic zookeeper whose identity is unknown, Calle says: “It’s the only thing
