A spokesman for the Bronx Zoo in New York City said that tests confirmed a female tiger in the zoo with respiratory illness caused by the Corona virus, in the first case of an animal with Covid-19 disease in the United States and the first infection of a tiger in the world.


The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the zoo, said in a statement that the results of the tests conducted for the female tiger, named after Nadia, who is four years old and belongs to the Malay tiger family, were positive and that she suffered from a dry cough but is expected to recover.


"We examined the female tiger out of great care, and we will work to make any knowledge we acquire regarding Covid-19 contribute to a continuing global understanding of this emerging virus," she added in a statement.