Edinburgh Zoo taking 'extra precautions' against transmission of Covid-19 to animals

Staff at Edinburgh Zoo are taking extra precautions against the potential transmission of Covid-19 to animals after a tiger in a New York zoo tested positive for the virus.

It was reported yesterday that Nadia, a four-year-old female Malayan tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo, tested positive for Covid-19.

The US Department of Agriculture, which confirmed Nadia's test result at its veterinary lab, believes it is the first known case of an animal contracting the highly contagious respiratory infection from a human and becoming sick.

"This is the first time that any of us know of anywhere in the world that a person infected the animal and the animal got sick," Paul Calle, the chief veterinarian at the zoo, told Reuters news agency on Sunday.

A Malayan tiger has tested positive for Covid-19 in New York

Six other tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo have also fallen ill, and are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who was not yet showing symptoms.

This raises questions about transmission of the virus in animals - and staff at Edinburgh Zoo are leaving nothing to chance.

Darren McGarry, head of living collections at Edinburgh Zoo said: "It is a challenging time and our amazing teams at both parks are continuing to give our wonderful animals all the care they need.

"Covid-19 is a new form of coronavirus and we are finding out more about it every day.

"As always, there is a high standard of cleaning and hygiene when it comes to taking care of our animals and we are taking extra precautions against the potential transmission of the virus. This includes keeping any direct contact to a minimum, keeping a two metre distance where possible and wearing masks around some of our animals, such as the primates, cats and bears.

"Just like for everyone else, this is a new situation which is changing almost daily.

"We are incredibly grateful for the continued support from our fantastic members and supporters, which will be even more important over the coming months. Anyone who would like to help can find out how on our website."

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