Cheyenne Mountain Zoo holding off on giving animals COVID-19 vaccine
COLORADO SPRINGS (KRDO)-- Despite the Denver Zoo and the Oakland Zoo announcing they will now give some animals the COVID-19 vaccine, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo says they are holding off for the time being.
"For now, we’re not vaccinating them because our animal experts don’t think we need to at this point," said Cheyenne Mountain Zoo spokesperson Rachel Wright. "Our animal care team is watching this closely, and if evidence proves otherwise as time goes on, we’ll vaccinate the individuals who we think need to be vaccinated."
The Denver Zoo says it will start vaccinating animals as early as next week. Primates and carnivores will be among the first vaccinated. There have been several documented cases of COVID-19 in large cats, monkeys, and certain rodents.
"For our animals, we want to be able to protect them similar to how we're trying to protect people," said Dr. Scott Larsen, VP of animal health at the Denver Zoo.
Wright says that the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was able to keep animals healthy throughout the peak of the pandemic, so they're going to, "continue doing what has worked."
The Cheyenne Mountian Zoo is part of a large network of zoos and care facilities and says it will keep in touch with other zoos as they evaluate the best way to care for the animals.
