4 more tigers and 3 lions test positive for coronavirus at Bronx Zoo, officials say

More than two weeks after a tiger tested positive for coronavirus, seven more big cats have tested positive for COIVD-19 at the Bronx Zoo, according to a news release.

Four more tigers and three lions have now tested positive for COVID-19, the zoo announced Wednesday. On April 5, the zoo announced that a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger had tested positive and a few other animals were showing symptoms.

“Samples for testing from the tiger, Nadia, were collected from her nose, throat, and respiratory tract while she was under anesthesia,” the zoo said in the news release. “Subsequently, we can confirm that the three other tigers in Tiger Mountain and the three African lions that exhibited a cough have also tested positive for COVID-19. This testing was done by using a fecal sample test developed by our laboratory partners that does not require the animals be placed under anesthesia.”

Another tiger that tested positive never developed a cough, according to the zoo.

All eight cats are behaving normally, zoo officials said in the news release.

“We tested the tigers and lions out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 will contribute to the world’s continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus,” the zoo said. “The testing of these cats was done in veterinary laboratories and resources used did not take from those being used for human testing.”

Other animals have also tested positive this week. Two cats that live in separate areas of New York tested positive for the coronavirus, the United States Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.

The cats are the first pets in the U.S. to test positive, according to McClatchy News.

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 7:02 PM with the headline "4 more tigers and 3 lions test positive for coronavirus at Bronx Zoo, officials say."