US Confirms World’s First SARS-CoV-2 Cases in Gorillas

Zoo officials say the captive primates are recovering, but scientists worry the virus could spread quickly through dwindling wild populations.

Written byMax Kozlov

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ABOVE: Two of the eight gorillas currently in quarantine at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park
COURTESY SAN DIEGO ZOO SAFARI PARK

Three western lowland gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the US Department of Agriculture announced yesterday (January 11), marking the first confirmed cases of the virus in great apes.

“Aside from some congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well,” Lisa Peterson, the executive director of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, says in a statement. “The troop [of eight] remains quarantined together and are eating and drinking. We are hopeful for a full recovery.”

The three infected gorillas, which have runny noses and are lethargic, likely contracted the virus from an asymptomatic zoo worker, similar to the three lions and five tigers that tested positive at the Bronx Zoo in April, according to Peterson.

Two of the gorillas first began coughing ...

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Meet the Author

Max Kozlov
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Max is a science journalist from Boston. Though he studied cognitive neuroscience, he now prefers to write about brains rather than research them. Prior to writing for The Scientist as an editorial intern in late 2020 and early 2021, Max worked at the Museum of Science in Boston, where his favorite part of the job was dressing in a giant bee costume and teaching children about honeybees. He was also a AAAS Mass Media Fellow, where he worked as a science reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Read more of his work at www.maxkozlov.com.
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