Kaziranga National Park on full alert against the spread of COVID-19

KNP authority following directives of CZA & TCA after tiger diagnosed COVID+ve in Bronx Zoo, USA

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Kaziranga National Park (KNP) authority is on full alert against the spread of COVID-19, and has initiated a number of measures for its personnel as well as the animals inside KNP and its fringe areas.

Talking to The Sentinel on Friday, KNP Director P Sivakumar said, “We are following all the guidelines issued by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the Tiger Conservation Authority (TCA) following the case of a tiger being diagnosed COVID-19 positive in Bronx Zoo, USA.

“For example, as per the directives, the postmortem of any animal in KNP has to be done with the minimum of staff. Moreover, samples of such animals will have to be preserved and sent to laboratories for detailed study.”

Agencies have reported that the four-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia, in the United States, is the first known animal to test positive for coronavirus in the last part of March. She appeared to have a dry cough and a mild loss of appetite, but is expected to make a full recovery. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which runs the Bronx Zoo, also announced that Nadia’s sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions had also developed similar symptoms.

Meanwhile, as another precautionary measure, the KNP authority has presently barred all personnel who had been on leave before lockdown from joining duty. Dwelling on this aspect, the KNP Director said, “All such employees on leave will be allowed to rejoin duty only after they are cleared in the mandatory medical tests.”

He added, “We have also restricted our present personnel to their respective areas of operation or camps. One month ration has been already provided in advance for the staff in each KNP camp. Periodic health checkups of personnel are also being carried out.”

On the other preventive steps, Sivakumar stated, “Vaccination of domestic animals in the fringe areas of the Park will be carried from the far end of April, i.e., after Bohag Bihu. This will shield the domestic animals from the wild ones that usually take shelter in those fringe areas during the monsoon season. This step will also check the possibility of ailment transmission among the animals. This pre-monsoon drive will be jointly done by the KNP authority, veterinary department and NGOs.” He further said, “All tourist-destination spots have been disinfected with the help of district administration.”

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