Several other wildlife species were tested, including minks, but all tested negative for COVID-19.
In November, officials in Denmark became concerned after minks that were culled to stop the spread of the virus turned into zombies due to gases building up in their decomposed bodies.
In October, researchers became concerned that the narwhal, described as the unicorn of the sea for its long tusk, could be at risk to the virus, given they are particularly susceptible to infection.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of animals spreading the virus is considered to be low, but there has been evidence of animals getting the virus.
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed the first known case of the coronavirus in a wild animal, a mink. In an alert to the International Society for Infectious Diseases, US officials said a wild mink had tested positive around an infected mink farm in Utah during the screening of wildlife around fur farms with outbreaks.
Farmed mink are known to be susceptible to the virus, with cases reported at fur farms in the US and Europe. But this is the first known detection of the coronavirus in a “free-ranging wild mink.” It is unclear how the wild mink may have come into contact with infected mink on a farm.