A tiger in the Bronx Zoo has contracted coronavirus, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed.
Nadia is a 4-year-old Malayan tiger and was one of seven total animals who "showed symptoms of respiratory illness," (the others included three lions, one fellow Malayan tiger and two Amur tigers) on March 27. Nadia was the only animal tested however because "the collection of diagnostic samples in big cats requires general anesthesia" and the zoo's veterinarian elected that it was in the "best interest of the animals to limit the potential risks of general anesthesia to one tiger for diagnostics."
Nadia is believed to have contracted the virus from a zoo worker who was asymptomatic.
The zoo expects that all of the animals will recover.
Read more here.
Photo: Getty