Ramil had not yet been vaccinated against covid-19. Staff began administering doses of an experimental vaccine made specifically for animals in March, after an asymptomatic keeper wearing protective gear unknowingly spread the virus to the zoo's gorilla troop.
The eight gorillas recovered within weeks, but the experience convinced zoo officials to take action to protect the animals at the highest risk of infection. The virus has been shown to infect mammals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, with multiple reports of companion and zoo animals becoming sick. Most got the virus after contact with infected humans.
Among the animals that tested positive for coronavirus: four tigers and three African lions at New York's Bronx Zoo, two tigers at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana, two tigers at Norfolk's Virginia Zoo and three snow leopards at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky.
In light of such infections, some zoos turned to the experimental animal vaccine. Zoetis, a New Jersey-based veterinary pharmaceutical company, donated doses to zoos across the country, including San Diego's. Four orangutans and five bonobos at the zoo became the first nonhuman primates to be vaccinated against the virus.
"We've been vaccinating animals almost daily," Lamberski said. "We're doing it as quickly and as responsibly as possible."
The zoo also stepped up health and safety protocols at the start of the pandemic, providing N95 masks to staff, requiring unvaccinated zoo employees to wear masks and following cleaning and disinfecting protocols. Guests who are not vaccinated are asked to wear masks and maintain social distance, and Lamberski said zoo officials are encouraging employees to get the shots "to protect themselves and our wildlife."
It's not clear how Ramil became sick. But Lamberski said his infection demonstrated "the interconnectedness of the health of wildlife, people and the environment."
"It's all interconnected," she said, "and what affects the health of one affects the health of all."
