Singapore – The four Asiatic lions at the Night Safari who have tested positive and are being treated for Covid-19 are part of a growing number of magnificent big cats who have become Covid “patients” in zoos and wildlife areas in India and the US.
So far, apparently only two of the known cases in India have died. The Straits Times reported in September that they were a nine-year-old lionness called Neela and a 12-year-old lion called Pathmanathan from the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai. A snow leopard in South Dakota died after showing signs of infection.
In the US, two spotted hyenas at the Denver Zoo in Colorado, have also tested positive. They had “a little bit of coughing and sneezing”, a zoo spokesman told The New York Times. Eleven lions and two tigers from the same zoo had also tested positive earlier on but were recovering or fully recovered.
Tigers and lions in the National Zoo in Washington D.C., a Malayan tiger at New York’s Bronx Zoo, snow leopards and Sumatran tiger in Nebraska, a gorilla in Atlanta are among the other animals known to have had Covid-19. They also include a San Diego Zoo tiger that had been vaccinated but got infected.
The four Asiatic lions in the Singapore Zoo had been exposed to infected staff, the Animal Veterinary Service (AVS) said on Tuesday. It was on Saturday last week that the lions started coughing and sneezing and being lethargic, the AVS said.
The staff from whom they likely caught the virus were from the Mandai Wildlife Group. So the AVS ordered this group to isolate all nine Asiatic lions and five African lions in their dens, including the ones already showing symptoms.
An African Lion at the Singapore Zoo had also showed similar symptoms on Monday and was being tested for Covid-19 infection.
AVS, which functions under the National Parks Board, noted that the four Asiatic lions were tested with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
“AVS is working with the Mandai Wildlife Group to closely monitor the health of the lions and will be testing samples from the remaining lions,” the agency said.
The group confirmed to Channel News Asia that three keepers from the Night Safari Carnivore section had tested positive for Covid-19. Two of them tested positive while off duty. The third, who did not show symptoms, tested positive at work and was taken off duty.
Team members who have been in contact with the Covid-19-positive staff were also tested. The Asiatic lion exhibit which is on the tram route at the Night Safari has been closed since Sunday.
“All the lions remain bright, alert and are eating well. There has been evidence that animals in general do not fall seriously ill from the virus,” said Dr Sonja Luz, vice president of conservation, research and veterinary at Mandai Wildlife Group.
“We expect that the lions will make full recovery with minor supportive treatment. However, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics may be prescribed if further treatment is needed.”
Dr Luz added that no other animals across the four wildlife parks have shown “clinical signs of the virus,” although animal care teams are monitoring the situation.
“The health and safety of our guests, staff and animals are our top priority. From the onset of COVID-19 in 2020 … we put in place additional safety measures to reduce the likelihood of asymptomatic animal carers inadvertently passing the disease to susceptible species,” said Dr Luz.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that based on available information, the risk of animals spreading Covid-19 to people is considered to be low.
“We are still learning about this virus, but we know that it can spread from people to susceptible animal species in some situations, especially after close contact with a person with Covid-19,” said CDC.
“For this reason, the virus may threaten the health and welfare of wildlife and could negatively impact conservation efforts.” /TISG
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