No laughing matter as hyenas catch Covid

No laughing matter as hyenas catch Covid

A national veterinary lab in the United States announced on Friday, November 4, the first confirmed cases of coronavirus among hyenas at Denver Zoo in Colorado. These cases were discovered after several of the lions had shown signs of illness, so samples were taken from all the animals, including the spotted hyenas.

According to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, a lab at Colorado State University carried out the tests on the samples. This was when the hyenas were found to be positive for the virus.

It was not only the hyenas though, with two tigers, and eleven lions also giving positive results. A zoo spokesperson said, “Hyenas are famously tough, resilient animals, that are known to be highly tolerant to anthrax, rabies, and distemper. They are otherwise healthy and expected to make a full recovery”.

Ngozi, who is 22, and 23-year-old Kobi, have only shown slight symptoms said the zoo official. This included an occasional cough, some nasal discharge, and lethargy, but, apart from that, they are doing well. All the other coronavirus positives in the zoo are either on their way to recovering, or have already made a full recovery, none have died.

In a statement, an official for Denver Zoo said, “We now know that many other species may be susceptible to Covid-19 based on multiple reports, and we continue to use the highest level of care and precaution when working with all of our 3,000 animals and 450 different species”, as reported by apnews.com.