CHENNAI: In a welcome news, latest Covid-19 tests conducted on Arignar Anna Zoological Park lions have all come back negative and the lions are recuperating well and not showing any serious post-Covid signs or complications.
The Vandalur zoo had sent nasal and rectal swab samples of three Covid-positive lions for retesting on July 9 to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal. All the samples had tested negative as per the report communicated by NIHSAD.
Further, the zoo sent the next set of nasal and rectal samples of the rest of the five Covid-positive lions and all the samples tested negative. “With this, all the 13 lions present in Arignar Anna Zoological Park have now tested negative for SAR-CoV2 virus and no lion is infected as of now,” said a press release on Friday.
However, considering the transmissibility of the virus, the health condition of the lions is being closely monitored by a team of veterinarians and the concerned field staff round the clock, the release added.
The zoo had lost two young lions to Covid in quick succession, which caused panic. However, the dedicated efforts of veterinary team and zoo staff, especially the animal keepers who worked tirelessly for the last two months, has yielded results, said zoo deputy director Naga Satish.