ONE of the world's most celebrated zoos created history recently by vaccinating four orangutans and five bonobos against Covid-19.
The nine great apes are the first non-human primates to be inoculated against the coronavirus, abc.net.au reported.
The AP, quoting officials from the San Diego Zoo in California, revealed that the troop was inoculated in January and February; and that a gorilla and three more bonobos are next in line for the jab.
It is not known which coronavirus vaccine the great apes were injected with, but abc.net.au reported that all nine received two doses of the antidote.
It added that the recipients included a 28-year-old Sumatran orangutan named Karen.
The zoo experienced an outbreak of Covid-19 among eight western lowland gorillas in January after exposure to a zookeeper who later tested positive for the virus, AP reported.
The infected troop experienced runny noses, coughing and lethargy, but are reported to have recovered.