2 lions at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium test positive for covid

Two lions at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium have tested positive for covid-19, zoo officials said Thursday.

Both female lions were coughing and had occasional diarrhea, but “were otherwise normal,” the zoo said. Cases of covid among lions at other zoos prompted veterinarians in Pittsburgh to test all six lions out of an abundance of caution.

“The risk of infection between zoo animals and guests is very low, as we do not allow any of our visitors to come within close proximity to any of our cats,” said Dr. Barbara Baker, zoo president and chief executive.

Baker said there has been no evidence showing that wild or domestic cats play a significant role in spreading the virus to humans in the United States.

She said the lions likely contracted the virus from an asymptomatic employee, and “all animals and staff are being closely monitored through the pandemic.”

Outcomes have been good for other wild animals who have picked up the virus in other zoos, Baker said.

Earlier this week, two tigers at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk tested positive for covid-19, and a third has mild respiratory symptoms and is being tested, according The Washington Post.

The newspaper reported zookeepers noted mild respiratory symptoms — dry coughs and wheezing — from two Malayan tigers, Osceola and Stubbley, last week. Last year, four lions and four tigers at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for the virus, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The positive cases among Pittsburgh’s lions come as some zoos move toward vaccinating their animals.

In late January, Karen, a 28-year-old orangutan at the San Diego Zoo, became the world’s first ape to receive a covid-19 vaccine. The move to vaccinate was prompted by an outbreak among a troop of eight gorillas earlier that month, according to NPR.

The vaccine used at the zoo, according to the outlet, was developed by Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical company. The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the zoo’s experimental use of the vaccine.