This is the first time in India that 8 Asiatic Lions have been tested positive for Covid-19 at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. This is a very strange incident as first incident of animals contacting Coronavirus in India.
NZP officials decided to test the lions for coronavirus after wildlife veterinarians working in the park noticed coronavirus-like symptoms including loss of appetite, nasal discharge, and coughing among the lions. Four males and four females each tested positive out of the 12 lions in the 40-acre safari area.
The management advised the veterinarians to take samples after they informed the officials of the lions’ symptoms. Oropharyngeal (part of the pharynx between the soft palate and the hyoid bone) swab samples of the lions were taken and sent to the CCMB in Hyderabad.
The daily stated that CCMB scientists will now do genome sequencing to figure out if this strain came from animals or human beings. The case of lions triggered the MoEFCC to issue a detailed advisory on April 30 to chief wildlife wardens asking them to shut all national parks, sanctuaries, and tiger reserves over fears of transmission.
