A tiger was euthanized for being positive for Covid. The animal was locked up in a zoo in Sweden
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himKilled because she had contracted Covid. This is the sad fate of a tiger in a zoo in Sweden. Nastasja - that was her name - was 17 years old. Along with her, two lions were also found positive at the Borås Zoo.
This is the first case of felines infected in the country, state epizootologist Karl Ståhl revealed to SVT News. The poor tiger started experiencing the first symptoms a few weeks ago. Then she lost her appetite and her condition worsened. It also had mucus mixed with blood. Thus euthanasia was ordered.
“The tiger was seriously ill, but she also had other previous illnesses. They decided to kill her immediately, ”said Ulf Lövdahl, veterinarian of the administrative council of the county of Västra Götaland.
The story began about two weeks ago when the Swedish Veterinary Institute, SVA, confirmed to ProMed via email that the tiger had been infected with covid-19. The next day, the test results were confirmed by a German laboratory. But
“The necropsy was performed at the SVA on January 16, 2021. The gross lesions of the respiratory tract were mild and non-specific. No convincing signs of pneumonia were observed. Blood-tinged mucus was present in the lower part of the trachea and bronchi. Findings in other organs were preliminarily considered age-related and therefore likely unrelated to SARS-CoV-2. The results of the histological examinations are pending ”reads the email.
From the words of the SVA it does not appear that his condition was so serious. However, the Swedish veterinarians added that
"It was suppressed on 11 January 2021 for reasons of animal welfare due to severe respiratory and neurological symptoms, high age and poor chance of recovery".
A male tiger kept in the same enclosure as Nastasja also showed moderate respiratory symptoms. And it wasn't the only one as the zoo lions, 2 adults and 2 younger specimens also showed mild respiratory symptoms but no neurological symptoms. Faecal samples from the lions also confirmed the presence of Covid for them.
The suspicion is that the staff infected the animals. Some employees who had cared for the felines had symptoms attributable to the coronavirus, and three staff members tested positive.
PRO/AH/EDR> COVID-19 update (33): Sweden, zoo, tiger, lion https://t.co/RGKlsOETuR
— ProMED-mail (@ProMED_mail) January 25, 2021
Tigers and lions doubly victims of man. Life in zoos and contact with humans, the vehicle of infection, has favored the spread of the disease in animals. One more reason to end their imprisonment.
Other animals infected in zoos around the world
The tiger and lions are just the latest animals in zoos to have contracted the SARS-CoV-2 infection. So far it has been confirmed in the lions and tigers at the Bronx Zoo (New York) in April 2020 and in the Knoxville (Tennessee) Zoo in October 2020. Other lions were infected at the Zoo in Barcelona (Spain) in December 2020 All infections found in carnivores were from animals kept in captivity, with the exception of the recent record of a wild mink captured and sampled in Utah.
Sources of reference: Promed, Expressen, SVT
READ also:
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- Covid-19 positive zoo tiger: infected by the keeper
- Gorillas tested positive for Covid at the San Diego Zoo, infected by humans
