(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A Snow Leopard at a zoo in central Illinois has died from complications attributed to COVID, officials said.
Rilu, an 11-year-old male, had struggled with pneumonia induced by the virus, the Miller Park Zoo said in a social-media post Thursday.
The zoo in Bloomington closed its Katthoefer Animal Building when several inhabitants came down with COVID. A number of cats became ill.
Rilu came to Miller Park Zoo in 2011 from the Oklahoma Zoo and helped produce seven living offspring.
"Rilu's personality and beauty will be missed by guests and staff, but he will not be forgotten," the zoo said.
Zoo officials note that animals at zoos and aquariums across the country have been affected by the coronavirus, with some animals dying.
