San Diego Zoo Gorillas Test Positive for COVID-19, First Known Case Confirmed in Apes

Gorillas sit after two of their troop tested positive for COVID-19 after falling ill, and a third gorilla appears also to be symptomatic, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in San Diego, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2021. Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Global/Handout via Reuters

Two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have tested positive for COVID-19, the zoo announced, marking it the first known such cases confirmed in apes.

San Diego Zoo Global announced that two gorillas at its San Diego Zoo Safari Park began coughing on Jan. 6, and that it began the process of testing fecal samples from the gorillas through the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CA HFS).