GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Nearly a month later, John Ball Zoo officials say their tiger who tested positive for COVID-19 is doing well.
Nika, a 16-year-old Amur tiger, tested positive in December and began feeling ill. Officials said that even with vaccination and COVID protocols, the virus could still spread in animals.
Now, the zoo says that Nika has improved.
“Nika continues to do well and has been symptom free since approximately five to seven days after her initial presentation," said zoo veterinarian Dr. Ryan Colburn, "No other animals at John Ball Zoo have shown signs of or tested positive for SARS CoV2.”
After Nika's diagnosis, other animals received vaccinations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout the zoo. Many animals had already received a dose of the vaccine for the virus. Nika, however, was due for her second dose of the animal vaccine the day she tested positive. The other tigers were fully vaccinated.
"So, because she was sick, we did not give her that dose," said Colburn. "She'll end up probably getting revaccinated in the future."
Colburn said Nika's symptoms came on very suddenly and overnight.
"Keepers came in in the morning and found her very lethargic, not wanting to eat, wanting to stay curled up in bed, just clearly not feeling good," said Colburn. "And in doing her examination, we anesthetized her so that we can safely do an exam, I'd say the biggest finding was that she had a high fever. So, that is pretty consistent with what we see in human cases as well as that characteristic high fever, but she did go on in those days of recovery to show some occasional coughing."
Officials say Nika and other animals in the zoo will be monitored to ensure the virus doesn't spread. During her illness, a zoo staff member was assigned strictly to the tigers, wore additional PPE like disposable suits and took a foot bath after leaving the building.
"We thank our veterinary and animal care teams for their quick response to Nika's case," zoo officials said in a statement. "We are so relieved to know that she is recovering well and no other animals were infected."
It was suspected that Nika caught the virus from a zoo team member who was positive.
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