Categories: Culture

Rare Sumatran tigers, Tino and Hari, recover from Covid in Indonesian zoo

One of the Sumatran tigers in the Indonesian zoo who has recovered from Covid-19 (Pics: Courtesy Twitter/@trtworld)

There is reason to cheer for wildlife enthusiasts even after World Tiger Day has gone by on July 29 and the celebrations are over. The good news is that two rare Sumatran tigers are recovering after catching Covid-19 in Indonesia.

Considered as critically endangered, the Sumatran tigers which is a subspecies are finding it very difficult to survive and exist ever since their jungle habitat has been shrinking due to agriculture and population increase leading to deforestation.

The names of these two tigers are Tino and Hari. The nine-year-old Tino had the following symptoms of the illness — shortness of breath, sneezing, and a runny nose on July 9 and also loss appetite &ndash; to be diagnosed with Covid. Two days later, the 12-year-old Hari, too, displayed the same symptoms.

<img alt="" src="https://www.indianarrative.com/upload/news/Sumatran_tiger2.jpg" style="width: 720px; height: 470px;" />

The swab samples were taken from both the tigers and the results showed that both were Coronavirus positive. This was stated by Suzi Marsitawati from the Jakarta Parks and Forestry Agency in a statement released on August 1 (Sunday).

With the detection of the disease, action was immediately initiated. They were treated with antibiotics, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory drugs and multivitamins.

After 12 long days, the two tigers have recovered and they are still being watched very closely at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta.

According to a report in India, Marsitawati talking to the media said: <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/two-rare-sumatran-tigers-recovering-after-catching-covid-19-in-indonesia-1835728-2021-08-02">&ldquo;Their condition is good now</a>. Their appetite has returned and they&rsquo;re being active.&rdquo;

Seized of these two cases of Covid in tigers, according to Marsitawati the Jakarta government is trying to find out how the tigers were infected. As a measure of precaution, the zoo had been closed during the coronavirus restrictions while no infection was reported among the zoo staff and the animal caretakers.