Miami Zoo Tigers Test Negative for Coronavirus After Experiencing 'Nasal Discharge'

The tigers at the Miami Zoo are coronavirus-free!

Coronavirus tests were given to the Florida zoo’s Sumatran tigers earlier this week after they “were observed showing symptoms that could be associated with the virus including nasal discharge, lethargy, and a loss of appetite,” zoo spokesman Ron Magill said in a press release.

“The tests were administered in an abundance of caution,” the zoo explained, noting that while “those symptoms could also be associated with a variety of other conditions,” a number of tigers at the Bronx Zoo, who had similar symptoms, have already been sickened with COVID-19.

The tests, which are not the same kind used for humans, consisted of a number of nasal, eye, throat, and rectal swabs.

Although the tigers have tested negative for coronavirus, it is unclear what caused them to begin exhibiting their symptoms.

“The Animal Health team explained that it could be a wide variety of causes ranging from allergies to a common cold,” the zoo noted in their press release.

Over the past month, a number of tigers at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo in New York have tested positive for COVID-19.

Nadia, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger, was tested by the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory after she — along with six other cats at the zoo — developed a dry cough, the WCS previously said in a news release. According to the Associated Press, only Nadia was tested at the time because she was already sedated for an exam.

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Earlier this week, it was announced that four additional tigers, as well as three lions, had also tested positive.

Nadia and the other cats were infected by a worker who was asymptomatic at the time they were caring for the animals.

“All eight cats continue to do well,” the zoo, which has been closed since March 16, said in a press release. “They are behaving normally, eating well, and their coughing is greatly reduced.”

In a previous update, the zoo’s chief veterinarian Paul Calle shared that none of the cats “were seriously ill and all of them are showing daily, progressive signs of improvement.”

“We expect full recoveries for all of them,” he added.

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