Two hippos in Belgian zoo test positive for COVID-19
Not gonna lie, if you told me this time last year that I'd still be writing articles about COVID... I probably would have believed you. Even as zoos start to vaccinate their animals against the disease, we continue to learn that more and more species are susceptible to it. Hippos, such as the two afflicted animals in Antwerp, are the latest on roster. They are not a species that I would have suspected of coming down with the disease, which so far has been primarily seen in carnivores and primates. At my zoo, at least, those are the species that staff had been taking the most precautions with. Now, I'm wondering if we need to reassess the potential risk and start taking more precautions to protect more species. Granted, the cases seen in these two animals appear very mild - runny noses, and that's it. Still, who knows how this disease might manifest itself in other species.
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