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Lion’s Death Suspected From Covid—And 8 Others In Indian Zoo Test Positive

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Updated Jun 4, 2021, 09:24am EDT

Topline

A lioness in an Indian zoo has died of a suspected Covid-19 infection while eight other lions—housed in the same zoo—have tested positive, authorities announced on Friday, marking the latest incident of a Covid-19 outbreak among big cats living in a zoological facility.

Key Facts

The deceased nine-year-old lioness—named Neela—died at the Valandur Zoo near Chennai, and died Thursday evening after showing some nasal discharge the previous day, The News Minute reported.

According to zoo authorities, five lions started showing loss of appetite and occasional coughing on May 26, after which the zoo decided to collect and send samples from the animals for further testing.

In total, the zoo sent 11 samples out for testing, out of which nine tested positive for the coronavirus, including the sample collected from Neela.

All the other lions who have tested positive are under close observation and are being treated for their symptoms by the zoo’s veterinary staff and keepers.

The source of the animals’ infection is unclear and the zoo notes all animal keepers and helpers working with the big cats have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and are required to wear PPE kits while visiting their areas.

Key Background

Last month, eight Asiatic lions tested positive for Covid-19 at Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. At the time India’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology tested the samples and found that the animals had been infected by the “A2a variant” of the coronavirus. The A2a variant was among the most common variants found in India during the first wave of the pandemic last year. The critically endangered big cats have since then fully recovered from the virus. While there are no confirmed instances of a big cat dying directly due to the coronavirus, a 17-year old tigress living in a Swedish Zoo had to be euthanized after contracting Covid-19—which caused appetite loss, severe respiratory distress and neurologic symptoms in her. Several other big cats in zoos across the world have contracted Covid-19 but most of them seemed to only have mild symptoms. It’s unclear if the new faster-spreading Covid-19 variants pose a bigger threat to these animals.

Surprising Fact

According to its 2019-20 report, the Valandur Zoo had 15 “Hybrid Lions” in its collection. Hybrid lions are crossbreeds between the African Lion and the critically endangered Asiatic Lion, which is found only in India.

Further Reading

Lioness dies of suspected Coronavirus infection at Vandalur zoo (The Hindu)

Lioness at Chennai zoo dies of suspected coronavirus infection, 8 lions test positive (The News Minute)

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