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ELEPHANT

Zurich Zoo mourns death of Druk the elephant

Staff at Zurich zoo are in mourning after Druk was put down on Tuesday.

Published: 4 May 2016 11:06 CEST
Zurich Zoo mourns death of Druk the elephant
Druk with baby elephant Omysha. Photo: Zurich Zoo

Druk, who had been in declining health since 2014, was put down shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

She had been unable to stand on Tuesday morning but carers decided to allow fellow elephants at the zoo to spend the day with her and say their last goodbyes, as would happen in the wild.

Druk did not have children of her own but was an amazing “aunt” to ten young animals, the zoo said in a statement.

She was described as having a strong character while zoo staff also said she was particularly adept at snapping branches from trees.

At 49, Druk the elephant was the longest living mammal at the zoo to date.

In April, firemen were called to the zoo after Druk was pushed over by her herdmates and found herself unable to get up again.

Using a crane, the recue team was able to lift the animal to her feet and lead her safely into the indoor enclosure, where she was checked over by a vet.

The zoo said at the time that euthanasia would be considered if Druck showed signs of suffering.

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ANIMALS

Coronavirus: Four lions test positive at Barcelona zoo

Four lions at Barcelona Zoo, three of them older females, caught Covid-19 last month but suffered only mild symptoms and have since recovered, the Catalan animal park said.

Published: 9 December 2020 17:26 CET
Coronavirus: Four lions test positive at Barcelona zoo
File photo of lions in a zoo: AFP

Their keepers were tipped off when they noticed “mild respiratory symptoms” among three 16-year-old females and a four-year-old male, a zoo statement said.

The symptoms emerged as two of their keepers tested positive for the virus.   

“The four lions were tested with the viral antigen detection kit… and were found to be positive,” it said, indicating the diagnosis was confirmed by PCR tests.

They were immediately treated with anti-inflammatories and closely monitored under a protocol similar to that for the flu, and “responded positively”.

“At no time were the lions seen having difficultly breathing or other respiratory issues, and all symptoms disappeared within a fortnight, apart from coughing and sneezing,” the zoo said.

To avoid catching the virus, the keepers wore FFP3 masks, plexiglass visors and protective footwear, and they were lowered into the enclosure in a halter.   

The zoo also contacted “international experts such as the Bronx Zoo veterinary service in New York, the only one to have documented a case of Sars-CoV-2 infection in big cats,” it said.

In early April, a four-year-old female tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for Covid-19, likely contracting it from a keeper who was asymptomatic at the time.

Since the start of the pandemic, cats, dogs and various other animals have tested positive for Covid-19 but until now, minks are the only animals proven to both contract the virus and pass it on to humans.

Several countries have ordered the mass culling of their mink populations, notably Denmark where more than 10 million have already been killed.

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