Nebraska Zoo’s three ‘beloved’ snow leopards die of COVID-19

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The three big cats have been delighting visitors to the Nebraska Zoo for years: they pounced on pumpkins during Halloween, prepped for photos and lounged on the rocks in their enclosure.

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The Lincoln Children’s Zoo has described snow leopards as goofy, bubbly, and handsome. They were one of the zoo’s top attractions, bringing a dose of mountainous majesty to the Great Plains.

But on Friday, the zoo announced that the leopards, Everest, Makalu and Ranney, had died of complications from COVID-19, about a month after the animals tested positive for the coronavirus. While scientists are still studying the effects of the virus on animals, members of several species have been infected and have died in zoos around the world. Snow leopards are considered vulnerable to extinction, with only a few thousand estimated to live in the wild.

Lincoln cats “were loved by our entire community inside and outside the zoo,” the zoo said in a statement. “This loss is truly heartbreaking and we are all grieving together.”

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Two Sumatran tigers, Axl and Kumar, were also infected, but the zoo said Friday that they “have apparently made a full recovery from their illness.”

The zoo will remain open to the public. The park said it has strict coronavirus protocols for animal areas, including wearing masks for staff working inside. An investigation did not determine the cause of the outbreak, he said.

It is possible for humans to infect cats with the coronavirus and for cats to transmit it to other cats, according to the Cornell Feline Health Center. However, the Cornell center said, there is still no evidence that cats can infect people. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies the risk of spreading from animals to people as low.

Last month, the park said its animal handlers had “observed symptoms consistent with the virus in felines,” which can include coughing, fatigue and loss of appetite. They collected nasal swabs and fecal samples, and the cats tested positive shortly after, the zoo’s first and only case.

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In an October statement, the zoo said the infected animals were being treated with steroids and antibiotics, but did not say whether they had been vaccinated. Zoetis, a former New Jersey-based Pfizer subsidiary, has provided an animal-specific coronavirus vaccine to zoos across the country. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.

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The exploits of the three snow leopards have been documented in dozens of posts on the zoo’s social media over the years. A video from last year shows Everest performing a backflip on a pumpkin, and a 2015 post celebrating his recent arrival noted that he “quickly became a guest favorite with his playful and energetic personality.” Meanwhile, Ranney had a predilection for posing for photos on his back and sleeping on rocks.

Since April 2020, when a tiger tested positive for coronavirus at the Bronx Zoo, dozens of captive animals in the United States have been infected. This month, the Denver Zoo reported the world’s first two cases of coronavirus in hyenas, and the St. Louis Zoo found eight positive cases among its big cats, including two snow leopards.

Snow leopards have also been infected at the Louisville Zoo and the San Diego Zoo, where 9-year-old Ramil started having a cough and a runny nose in July. Abroad, the virus has killed a lion in India and two tiger cubs in Pakistan.

Alex Herman, vice president of veterinary services at the Oakland Zoo in California, where big cats are vaccinated, told The Washington Post last month that it is important to vaccinate animals to help slow the spread between all species.

“Human beings are being devastated all over the world. The animals are also being devastated, ”he said. “It is a health.”