8 Bronx Zoo Big Cats Test Positive for COVID-19

The Bronx Zoo is reporting that eight big cats at their facility have tested positive for COVID-19.

The zoo, which has been closed since March 16, first discovered that a four-year old female Malayan tiger tested positive for the virus on April 5. Meanwhile, three other tigers and three African lions were also showing similar symptoms. So while zoo officials tested the four-year old tiger under anesthesia, the other cats were tested by using a fecal sample test developed by the zoo’s laboratory partners.

“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 Bronx Zoo said. “All eight cats continue to do well. They are behaving normally, eating well, and their coughing is greatly reduced.”

The Bronx Zoo also noted that the testing of these cats was conducted in veterinary laboratories and that resources used on them did not take away from those being used for human testing.

According to the zoo, the cats contracted the virus from “a person caring for them who was asymptomatically infected with the virus or before that person developed symptoms.”

OutdoorHub Editor: Keenan Crow

Keenan Crow is an outdoor writer who graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in journalism and creative writing. He has been writing for OutdoorHub for nearly five years, but anybody he is close with will tell you he has been telling hunting stories for far longer. He uses his experiences outdoors to write about things he loves - bow hunting, fishing, upland hunting, shed hunting, turkey hunting, waterfowl hunting, dog training, shotguns, ATVs and the outdoor lifestyle he lives in his home state of Michigan. Outside of hunting/fishing, he also loves to cook - especially with wild game - play golf and go on hikes with his yellow lab, Stella.