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Charlie and Santai, a Bengal tiger and a Bornean orangutan, two endangered species, received the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday as part of a unique Latin American pilot program at the Santiago Zoo in Chile.
Sandai is 26 years old “An animal with considerable reproductive ability for its species, which has led us to focus on its immunization.” said Ignacio Indalsoaga, director of the zoo.
Charlie, though only three years old, is already a big tiger of Bengal, one of the largest cats in the world.
In addition to Charlie and Santai, zoo officials have immunized dozens of other animals, including cats and great apes, against Covid-19.
The vaccine given to them is experimental and is not for sale. Its formula, which is specially formulated for animals, is similar in some respects to that given to humans, explained the Zoetis veterinary laboratory that delivered the vaccines to the Santiago Zoo.
The same vaccine was given to animals at the San Diego Zoo in the US, but in Chile (where 87% of the population over the age of three is fully immunized against Covid-19) is the only Latin American country to have started a vaccine program for animals.
“Our goal is to protect animals that are more susceptible to coronavirus and at the same time confirm whether their vaccines provide immunity and how long it lasts, just like us humans do.”, said Sebastian Shelley, head of veterinary medicine.
To calm the animals down to vaccinate them, Charlie was given a piece of meat and Santai a lot of bananas, his favorite food.
No animal cases with Covid-19 have been reported at the Santiago Zoo, as in Washington, DC, where six lions and three tigers were vaccinated against Covid-19 after testing positive for the disease last year.
Gorillas at the Atlanta Zoo in Georgia were among the first animals to test positive for Covid-19.
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