Snow leopard tests positive for COVID-19 at San Diego Zoo, California
- Jul 25, 2021,
- Updated Jul 25, 2021, 12:21 AM IST
CALIFORNIA: A Snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo in California has been tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
The nine-year-old male snow leopard name 'Ramil' was unvaccinated and had a cough and a runny nose said, caretakers.
The presence of the COVID-19 in the animal's stool sample has been confirmed by both the zoo's staff and a state-level lab, the zoo said in a statement on Friday.
Ramil is not showing any other signs or symptoms, however, the zoo's staff suspects he has been exposed because he shares an enclosure with a female snow leopard and two Amur leopards.
It is yet undetermined how Ramil got infected.
ALSO READ Tokyo Olympics: PV Sindhu wins 1st badminton singles match beating Israel’s Ksenia Polikarpova
Later, the animals were quarantined, and their exhibit was shuttered.
The zoo's staff vaccinated the animals most at risk of developing COVID-19, including primates and felines, according to the zoo.
however, Ramil, on the other hand, had not been vaccinated prior to his infection.
The zoo further stated that it is not mandated for the staff to get a vaccination, but unvaccinated employees are required to wear masks at all times.