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ZOO

Raccoon births take zoo by surprise

Servion zoo near Lausanne is celebrating the unexpected birth of two baby raccoons – the first at the zoo for 15 years.

Published: 20 July 2017 13:14 CEST
Raccoon births take zoo by surprise
Photo: Servion zoo

Zookeepers were taken by surprise when the two babies emerged into the open from their hiding place, Le Matin reported.

They are thought to have been born in April but were not spotted until two months later.

READ ALSO: Basel zoo welcomes new baby rhino

The zoo has had a pair of young raccoons since 2015, which replaced an old and infertile couple, but there was no sign that the female was pregnant, it said.

Largely nocturnal, the animals spend a large part of their time inside a hollow tree trunk in their enclosure.

“The tree is a real labyrinth and the raccoons enjoy sleeping and playing inside it,” the zoo said.

It added that the family was getting along well and clearly enjoying the summer weather.

The zoo says the babies are spending more and more time outside and are most likely to be visible at 3pm feeding time and towards the end of the day.

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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