A worker standing next to a lioness enclosure at the National Zoo in New Delhi, India, April 1, 2021. (Getty Images via Jewel Samad / AFP)
Chennai, India-A 9-year-old Asian lion has died from a coronavirus at a state-owned zoo on the outskirts of the South Indian city of Chennai, the zoo announced Friday.
There have been cases of coronavirus in a variety of animals, including two white tiger cubs believed to have died of COVID-19 in neighboring Pakistan and lions that also tested positive in two other cities in Spain and India.
“A 9-year-old lioness Neira died of illness on the night of June 3,” Arina Anna Zoo said of the latest incident.
The outbreak was first observed on Thursday and most lions were asymptomatic.
They were quarantined and given antibiotics.
A zoo statement added that “samples of tigers and other large mammals have been sent for inspection.”