Zookeepers: Lions at Singapore Wildlife slowly recover from COVID-19

Singapore — Health Minister Ong Ye Kung posted on Tuesday (Nov 16) on his Facebook page an update about the animal carers and lions at the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari after being infected by COVID-19.

On Nov 10, four lions at the Singapore wildlife park were reported by officials to have tested positive for COVID-19 including infected zookeepers who have made contact with the animals with symptoms like coughing and sneezing. 

Mr Ong was worried about the condition of the zookeepers and the animals in the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari after reading about what happened to the snow leopards in Nebraska. 

In his Facebook post, he said “Read about the snow leopards that died at a zoo in Nebraska, which prompted me to enquire how our animal carers and lions are doing at the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. Our Zoo gave me a reply, through Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin, who is also the Deputy Chairman of Mandai Park Holdings.”

“They said that the animal carers are ‘on the mend with only mild symptoms’. Both lion prides ‘are also recovering well’ in their dens, away from public areas. The lions at the Night Safari are ‘bright, alert and doing well, and their diets are being boosted with vitamins and supplements. All the lions continue to eat well’,” he added.

He posted the update to let the people know about the situation of the zookeepers and lions. He added at the end of his post “Thought you might be interested to know.”

Netizens were glad to know about the situation of the lions and the keepers getting better, and they were also thankful for Mr Ong’s update. Some netizens also expressed their worries about their animals getting the virus. 

Meanwhile, as the animals and the keepers continue to recover, Singapore has been facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak reporting 2,000 or more cases per day. /TISG