Dead Kolara tiger tests negative for Covid-19

Nagpur: A sub-adult male tiger KT-1, which died all of a sudden at Gorewada Rescue Centre four days ago, has tested negative for Covid-19.
KT-1, which killed five villagers in Kolara range in the buffer zone of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), was captured on June 10 and brought to Gorewada in a healthy state. However, the tiger showed poor appetite since its arrival at the centre. The tiger died on June 22 morning causing flutter.
As per the preliminary findings, the veterinarians performing post-mortem said the tiger probably died of septicaemia, a serious bloodstream infection. It is also known as blood poisoning that occurs when a bacterial infection elsewhere in the body such as lungs or skin enters bloodstream.
After a tiger was tested positive for Covid-19 in the USA’s Bronx Zoo, New York, both Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had issued precautionary guidelines for wild animals and those in the zoos and rescue centres.
As the death of KT-1 was sudden, vets also took throat swab samples of the tiger and sent it to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-affiliated National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases.
“The ICAR lab is one of the three labs which were authorized by the CZA to conduct sample test for Covid-19. The report received on June 25 from Bhopal institute reveals that KT-1 is negative for Covid-19,” said FDCM officials. The FDCM is now awaiting the post-mortem report, which is expected in a day or two.