Great Plains Zoo Snow Leopard Passes Away From Covid - Protecting Captive Animals

Baya the female Snow Leopard lost her life to Covid.   She was the first non-human casualty to the virus in a Zoo setting.  RIP Baya, Bless Your Soul.

Screencap Great Plains Zoo FB

Big Cats and Great Apes seem to be the captive species most affected.  The first reported case was a Tiger at the Bronx Zoo in April 2020, close to the start of the pandemic.  Since then there have been many Covid cases in the captive animal community.  

This year San Diego seems to have been hit repeatedly.  In January, eight Gorillas at their Safari Park were infected, in July the Zoo's two Snow Leopards, and in August six Sumatran Tigers at the Safari Park came down with Covid.  Among them, possibly our own Jillian and Teddy, who were transferred there not long before.

Last month saw two Zoo's with large groups infected.  Eighteen Gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, and Nine Big Cats at DCs National Zoo, including their African Lion Matriarch Shera, who came very close to having her life end due to virus complications.  Thankfully in the last few days she is doing better, but her condition is still guarded.

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, I have been roaring in person and via this blog, about the lack of protection in the way of signage, distancing and sheltering, at our San Francisco Zoo Chimpanzee yard. 

I spend most of my Zoo visits at that enclosure and admittedly worried most for them, as Chimpanzee Jamie would almost exclusively, sit at the netting in a place that was considerably less than six feet from Visitors, expelling possibly contaminated particles on her, and into the enclosure.

It took over a year for the Zoo to get proper signage in that area.  There was never any additional barriers to distance people or any kind of physical sheltering added.

It was not lost on me that the Snow Leopards and Bobcat enclosures were also vulnerable in proximity to Visitor aerosols.  Earlier this year, in a post dated January 17, I wrote ...

Regardless of whether I mentioned this or not, the Zoo should have been and still should be posting awareness signs regarding Mask wearing around all Vulnerable Species.  While neither the Snow Leopards or Bobcat linger at the fencing, aerosol particles travel up to twenty-seven feet, and that is this distance that should be used as a guideline for distance between random Humans and the Animals who are considered a Vulnerable Species.

Yesterday I saw a photo posted to the Fiona the Hippo Facebook Group, that made me gasp.  The San Antonio Zoo is conducting their behind the scenes Animal Experiences, allowing Visitors to not only go without Masks, but also feed the Animals without gloves.  The photo also shows a Keeper with no Mask.  I know it's Texas, but geez, talk about irresponsible.  I have to wonder if the AZA has a Covid Safety mandate for their Accredited Zoos?

I have made a case for protecting the Animals from Visitor aerosols.  While I think that it is necessary to take all possible precautions from the public side, infection from Zoo staff that has access to indoor animal quarters, has to be considered the most likely point of transmission.  Since Keepers have the closest contact, they are the ones that have been linked in most reports.  

As I questioned above, Is there a national mandate for Animal Staff safety protocol?  Are all Keepers required to be vaccinated?  Wear masks and gloves?  At our SFZoo, all Staff seem to be following the local mask mandate, and only once did I see an Animal Care staffer without a mask.  I was shocked.  I saw the Vet at the fencing, mask down, observing the Chimpanzees.  I'm still bothered by it.  

Mask wearing protocol has been a irk of mine from the start.  I have an endless stream of words and tales, about the subject.  The purpose of mentioning it here, is that there has to be some reason these captive animals are getting infected.  Are their Keepers not adhereing to safety protocols?  I'd be surprised, but not shocked if they weren't.  For those who are, mask handling and good hygiene practises, in my opinion, has to play a part in transmission.

In my observation over the past nineteen months, I've been disturbed by the lack of attention to mask handling and good hygiene.  In recent years I've been hyper-sensitive to other people's funk, so going into this my personal protocol may be considered extreme, but since we are about to be in this health crisis situation two years, extreme isn't a bad thing.   And those in close contact with others, non-human and human, especially caregivers, should adopt extreme protocols.

People might be wearing their mask and wearing gloves, but did they sanitize their hands prior to putting that gear on?  If not, whatever was on hands prior is now being transferred about.   I see people taking masks out of their pockets, touching the inside and then putting them over their mouth and nose, which are the places that the mask is supposed to be protecting.  It makes no sense, and it has to have played a part in the spread. Mask handling should be done by ear loops only. Additionally, masks that continually slip, need to go. Masks need to fit properly so they aren't being touched constantly.  In regards to Keepers, maybe it's time they double mask, adding an N95 or medical mask under the cloth mask that they should be changing/washing daily. 

I have a post following this one, that contains multiple small items.  One of those items is regarding a huge new sign at the crossroads after you enter past the gate house.  It touts the Zoo's Conservation efforts.  In my opinion, it seems to have been put there at this time, in preparation for the Zoo's upcoming AZA Accreditation inspection, as Conservation participation is on their checklist.  

In one of my early posts about the lack of awareness and mandate signage at Chimps, I noted that I thought signage about Vulnerable Species and the importance of adhereing to mask wearing around them, could be added to the wood fencing that borders the yard path.  With that idea in mind, the size, positioning and message of that conservation signage, could have been better utilized as a Covid and Animals Educational tool. ... Education is also on the inspection checklist, and current crises that effect Animals never seems to be part of the Zoo's awareness efforts.

I hope better precautions and protocols are put in place, so there won't be any more Animals infected.

Say some Prayers for all the Animals still experiencing symptoms of Covid, and hope they all recover soon.  

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