--- title: "A Tiger Just Tested Positive For COVID-19" description: "A four-year-old tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City called Nadia has tested positive for COVID-19, while six other large cats are exhibiting symptoms." date: "2020-04-06" modified: "2020-04-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tiger-covid-19-coronavirus" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" - "the digest" - "tiger" --- # A Tiger Just Tested Positive For COVID-19 ![A four-year-old tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City called Nadia has tested positive for COVID-19, while six other large cats are exhibiting symptoms.]() *\Image: Images via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\* ## Tiger Virus A four-year-old tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City named Nadia has tested positive for COVID-19, [the *BBC* reports](), while six other large cats are exhibiting symptoms. According to the zoo, an asymptomatic employee likely infected Nadia. Meanwhile, Joe Exotic from Netflix's true-crime megahit "Tiger King" has been placed under quarantine in prison after reports that he, like Nadia, has contracted the virus, [according to *Vanity Fair*](). ## A World's First Researchers are still working to understand whether the coronvirus is [dangerous to other animals](). "This is the first time that any of us know of anywhere in the world that a person infected the animal and the animal got sick," Paul Calle, the chief veterinarian at the zoo, [told *Reuters* ]()on Sunday. "Hopefully we will all have a better understanding as a result." ## Big Cats Nadia appeared to be the sickest and started to lose her appetite, and was therefore the first to get the test. Medical staff first did an X-ray, ultrasound, and blood test on the Malayan tiger before deciding to test her for COVID-19. That doesn't mean Nadia is a threat to the humans around her. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is [no evidence]() that zoo or wild animals can spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus back to humans. New York City has become the epicenter of the deadly virus. [According to the latest numbers](), over 3,000 people have died from the virus in the city alone. **READ MORE:** [Coronavirus: Tiger at Bronx Zoo tests positive for Covid-19]() \[*BBC*\] **More on the virus:** *[Coronavirus Forces Corona Beer to Shut Down Production]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()