At least 3 critically endangered gorillas tested positive for the coronavirus at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

• A group of gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are believed to have COVID-19.
• A statement shared on the safari park’s website on Monday said that officials tested “fecal samples” from the gorillas which confirmed the presence of the coronavirus in some of the animals in the troop.
• Zoo officials are not ruling out the presence of the virus in other gorillas in the troop of eight.
• Lisa Peterson, the zoo’s executive director, said in the statement Monday that the gorillas have “some congestion and coughing,” but are otherwise doing well.
• A spokesperson for the safari park told Insider on Tuesday morning that the gorillas are still “doing well and there have been no reports of more severe symptoms.”
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Several gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Lisa Peterson, the executive director of the zoo, told the Associated Press on Monday that eight gorillas who live in close proximity at the safari park are believed to have the coronavirus. Three, who the zoo is choosing not to name publicly, have tested positive so far. 

A statement released on the safari park’s website on Monday said that on January 6, “two of the gorillas began coughing” and two days later “preliminary tests detected the presence of the virus in the gorilla troop.”

“Aside from some congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well,” Peterson said in the statement. “The troop remains quarantined together and are eating and drinking. We are hopeful for a full recovery.”

They received the official COVID-19 diagnosis and confirmation from the United States Department of Agriculture on Monday. 

Read more: Scientists study coronavirus outbreaks among minks in Europe

According to the statement, the safari park suspects that the gorillas caught the disease from “an asymptomatic staff member.”

“For almost one year our team members have been working tirelessly, with the utmost determination to protect each other and the wildlife in our care from this highly contagious virus,” Peterson said in the statement.

“The safety of our staff and the wildlife in our care remains our number one priority,” she added.

Video: Gorillas Get Coronavirus (QuickTake)

• 

  An Immersive Gaming Experience

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Touring The World Virtually

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Capitol Hill Chaos

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  U.S. Law Enforcement Comparison

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Tokyo's Second State of Emergency

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Police Arrive to Confront Protesters on Capitol Steps

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Driverless KFC Food Truck

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  The $600 Billion Question: Where Is Jack Ma?

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Escaping the United States for Canada

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  A Gadget Helping The Visually Impaired

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  A Gadget Helping The Visually Impaired

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Making Mattresses From PPE Waste

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  Biden to Georgia: The Power Is in Your Hands

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  PKG: This is a Mustang Mach-E (Social)

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  China Battles to Build Trust in its Vaccines Abroad

  

  QuickTake
  

• 

  3 Key Things To Look For In The Market

  

  QuickTake
  

• 
  An Immersive Gaming Experience
  Jan.07 — This company is aiming to make gaming more immersive by incorporating haptic technology into a vest.
  
  
  QuickTake
  

• 
  Touring The World Virtually
  Jan.07 — While the pandemic has put a temporary hold on tourism, a tour guide in Berlin, Germany has gone virtual, bringing live tours of his city to an international audience
  
  
  QuickTake
  

• 
  Capitol Hill Chaos
  Jan.07 — Here’s how a pro-Trump rally in Washington D.C. escalated into a violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday. More: https://trib.al/CLud7rL
  
  
  QuickTake
  

The safari park believes that this is “the first known instance of natural transmission to great apes and it is not clear if they will have any serious reaction.”

A spokesperson for the safari park told Insider on Tuesday morning via email that the gorillas are still “doing well and there have been no reports of more severe symptoms.”

The zoo tested the gorillas’ feces for the virus

The statement shared on the safari park website said that officials tested “fecal samples from the gorillas for SARS-CoV-2” after some of the gorillas started coughing. 

“The test results confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in some of the gorillas and does not definitively rule out the presence of the virus in other members of the troop,” the statement read.

According to AP, the gorillas in the infected group are western lowland gorillas, a group facing declining populations due to risk factors like illegal hunting and disease.

The World Wildlife Organization categorizes the subspecies as “critically endangered.”

Other animals have been diagnosed with COVID-19

Five tigers and three lions at the Bronx Zoo in New York tested positive for the coronavirus in April. 

Multiple mink farms in the US and Europe reported outbreaks among the animals last summer. As of late December, according to The Atlantic, mink farms in nine countries had confirmed cases, including Canada, Sweden, and Greece. 

National Geographic’s Natasha Daly reports that the San Diego gorillas are the first non-human primates in the world and the seventh animal species overall to have confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

• Read more:

• Denmark to lock down regions after mutated coronavirus traced to minks

• Denmark wants to cull all farmed minks over COVID fears

• Tiger at New York’s Bronx Zoo tests positive for coronavirus

Source: Read Full Article