World News

First Big Cat Tiger named Nadia tests positive for Covid-19 in a New York Zoo

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 06 Apr 2020 • 9:01

A TIGER at New York’s Bronx Zoo has tested positive for Covid-19 and is believed to have contracted the virus from a caretaker who was asymptomatic at the time.

The four-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia along with her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions all developed dry coughs and are expected to fully recover, reported the Wildlife Conservation Society that runs the city’s zoos.

The four-year-old female Malayan tiger tested positive after developing a dry cough and is expected to recover.

Samples from Nadia were taken and tested after the tiger and five other tigers and lions at the zoo began showing symptoms of respiratory illness, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

No other animals at the zoo are showing symptoms.

“Though they have experienced some decrease in appetite, the cats at the Bronx Zoo are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers,” the zoo said.

“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.”