After two puppies in a Pakistani zoo died at 11 weeks old, they were diagnosed as infected with the virus • They were apparently infected by a staff member at the place • 6 zoo workers were also infected
A white tiger cub at a zoo in Nicaragua, last month
Photo:
AFP
Two white tiger cubs died about two weeks ago at the Lahore Zoo, the second largest city in Pakistan, after apparently contracting the corona virus.
According to the zoo, the puppies, who were 11 weeks old at the time of their death, suffered from heavy breathing symptoms, which are manifested in Corona patients, but the zoo staff initially thought they had a kitten, a serious viral disease that affects cats' immune systems and is common in the country.
After the two died, a pathological examination found that their lungs had suffered significant damage - and a corona examination performed on them revealed that the two had indeed contracted the disease.
Following this, all the staff in the kindergarten who worked with the puppies were also examined, and it turned out that six of them, including a personal caregiver of the tigers, had been diagnosed as verified to Corona.
The zoo's deputy director, Kieran Salem, told Reuters that "in this case, the puppies were victims of the humans who cared for them. We performed tests, and our suspicion that it was a corona turned out to be true, and indeed the puppies were infected with humans."
It is important to note that the condition of the zoos in Pakistan is under severe criticism by international animal organizations, which claim that many animals are kept under conditions and that they are harmed by improper care and diseases caused to them by the condition of the cages in which they live, including poor hygiene.
"The white tiger is a very rare animal, it is a species that needs to live in a very specific environment and habitat to live a healthy life," said Zufishan Anushi, founder of a local animal rights organization called JFK.
"The zoo did not have the right means for these puppies, and that is the real reason for their deaths. As long as there is no order in the state zoos, we will continue to see such cases."
