Anies' Story About A Giraffe That Was Not Infected With Corona From A COVID-19 Positive Tiger In Ragunan Because Of Keeping A Distance

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan shared the story of his visit to the Ragunan Wildlife Park. After visiting two Sumatran tigers named Hari and Tino who had tested positive for COVID-19.

Anies visited a giraffe cage named Julang. Anies said Julang was in good health. This long-necked animal is not infected with COVID-19 because it always keeps its distance.

"This giraffe is always friendly and impressive. His tongue and mouth are skilled at sipping the food we put in our hands. Even though Hari and Tino had tested positive for COVID-19, the giraffe always kept its distance from tigers, never creating crowds," Anies said on his Instagram account, Sunday, August 1st.

Apart from Hari and Tino, Anies said that other animal residents were also not exposed to the corona virus. Anies hopes that the condition of the animals in Ragunan will remain healthy until the zoo is re-opened for tourists to visit during the relaxation of PPKM.

"We pray that all residents in the Ragunan Wildlife Park are always healthy and hopefully we can meet again with visitors soon," he said.

The Head of the City Parks and Forest Service (Distamhut) of DKI Jakarta Province, Suzi Marsitawati conveyed the chronology of two Sumatran tigers exposed to COVID-19.

It all started when one of the tigers named Tino looked unwell. The protected animal shows symptoms of shortness of breath and others.

"On July 9, one of the Sumatran tigers named Tino, who was 9 years old, became ill with clinical symptoms of shortness of breath, sneezing, mucus from the nose, and decreased appetite," said Suzi.

Then, two days later, a tiger named Hari showed a decline in his health condition. In fact, the symptoms shown are similar to Tino.

So, the Ragunan Wildlife Park (TMR) took samples from the two Sumatran tigers. The sample was taken to the laboratory for examination.

"On July 14, we took samples by swab and then sent them to the laboratory of the Primate Animal Study Center, IPB Bogor. Then, the results came out on July 15 which stated that the two animals were exposed to COVID-19," said Suzi.

With the results of the examination, the two Sumatran tigers were immediately given intensive care. The administration of drugs such as antibiotics, antihistamines, anti-inflammatories, and multivitamins, continues for almost two weeks.

Until finally, the two Sumatran tigers were declared healthy. Although, until now, the condition of the two protected animals continues to be monitored.

"At the time of the review, the condition of the two animals was healthy. Their appetite had returned to normal and the animals had also returned to being active," said Suzi.