
Six Amur tigers received booster doses of a COVID vaccine designed for animals at the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park near Ashland.
Three exhibits at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium remain closed as officials assess the risk for avian influenza posed by migrating birds.
The Simmons Aviary, Lied Jungle and Desert Dome closed to guests Oct. 14 after two pelicans contracted the illness. The first pelican to contract the illness died. A second became ill and was euthanized.
At the time, officials said exhibits would remain closed for at least 10 days.
The buildings remained closed Tuesday.
The virus is commonly spread through the infected wild birds’ feces, which can make its way into the zoo through birds flying overhead or on people’s shoes.
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Zoo officials said Tuesday that they’re testing feces left by wild birds — mostly geese — around the zoo grounds.
Wild birds have been stopping at the zoo as they migrate south, said Diane Kohout, a zoo spokeswoman. Monday night, five ducks and one goose were spotted. Tuesday morning, she said, that swelled to 50 ducks and 20 geese.
To deter the birds, especially geese, the zoo has put up two inflatable tube men near lagoons. The geese don’t like the erratic movements made by the inflatable tubes.
The first inflatable tube man came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kohout said. Seeing how effective it was, zoo officials purchased a second.
Zoogoers haven’t batted an eye at the new décor, likely because it blends in with the scores of Halloween decorations already placed along paths and exhibits.
Photos: Cute Omaha zoo babies

Veterinary technician Nicole Linafelter holds a sleepy African Lion cub at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Jan. 4, 2012.

The sea lion pup was born June 17.

A baby lion cub snuggles with its mother, Mfisha, at the Henry Doorly Zoo on March 29, 2013.

A female 140-pound baby reticulated giraffe was born Sunday, October 12 at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo Giraffe Complex. Baby giraffes are born after about 15 months of gestation and they literally “fall” into the world. Mom gives live birth while standing. The calf drops five feet to the ground and within about 30-minutes the calf is on its feet standing almost six feet tall.

Sepilok holds her baby at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium’s Hubbard Orangutan Valley on Dec. 11, 2014. They are Bornean orangutans.

Five baby Rockhopper penguin chicks were on display for the news media at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. They were hatched between December 23 and 26 of 2013.

Eli Salmon, 5, of Omaha got a close-up look at baby gorilla Hadari, who was born on July 27, 2009. Hadari was being cared for by his grandmother, Rosie.

Mfisha nuzzles one of her lion cubs at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Friday, March 29, 2013. The lion cubs were born at the zoo on Dec. 29, 2012. The names were Taj, Josiri, Kya, Leela and Zuri.

Sepilok holds her baby at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium’s Hubbard Orangutan Valley on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014. They are Bornean orangutans.

Lee Simmons and his wife, Marie, pose for a portrait with a baby gorilla at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009. The gorilla suffered a broken left arm in August of that year and needed special care.

A baby gorilla at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009. The gorilla suffered a broken left arm and needed special care.

Baby tiger Isabella, born in the summer of 2010 and shown here in March 2011, is getting bigger and has moved to an outdoor exhibit with her mother at the cat house exhibit.

A baby gorilla is seen at the Henry Doorly Zoo in 1996.

A Gentoo penguin feeds one of two of his chicks in the Scott Aquarium at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium in January 2017. The zoo welcomed five Gentoo penguins, which were all hatched in December.

A Gentoo penguin chick dozes off at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium in January 2017. The zoo welcomed five Gentoo penguins, which were all hatched in December.

Baby gorilla Hadari at the Henry Doorly Zoo in February 2010. He was born on July 27, 2009.

This male Francois langur born on Aug. 11, 2010.

Baby gorilla Hadari at the Henry Doorly Zoo in February 2010. He was born on July 27, 2009.

This female giraffe calf, seen on March 16, 2012, was born one week earlier at the Omaha zoo. It was the first calf born at the zoo since 2007 and the 29th since 1979.

Jan. 4, 2012: Nicole Linafelter, feeds an African lion cub born in the last week at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Linafelter, a veterinary technician, is one of the people caring for this cub, who was the runt of the litter and was removed from her mother’s care.

The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium’s new klipspringer calf in the Desert Dome on March 25, 2013.

The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium’s new klipspringer calf with its mother in the Desert Dome on March 25, 2013.

Five baby Rockhopper penguin chicks were ready for their photo op in January 2014.

One of three Sumatran tiger Cubs born on May 25, 1998.

A white-handed gibbon baby peeks out at its surroundings while mom swings along at the Lied Jungle at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Oct. 24, 2003.

A female 140-pound baby reticulated giraffe was born Sunday, October 12 at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo Giraffe Complex

African Lion cubs born at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium are seen about a month after their birth. The zoo celebrated with meat cupcakes, candles and the singing by the zoo’s Bancroft kindergarteners on Jan. 31, 2013.

A baby gorilla sleeps in the arms of Sarah Dankof in the nursery area in the Hubbard Gorilla house. The babies are able to see the older gorillas and are separated by only a glass window.

Five baby Rockhopper penguin chicks were on display at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium on Tuesday, January 14, 2014.

A mother Indo-Chinese tiger and her three cubs went on display to the public on Feb. 10, 2004, at the Henry Doorly Zoo’s cat complex. The tiger cubs were born on December 23.

A female Amur tiger was born on June 22, 2010, at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium. Here, the baby went on display with her mother, Tiksi, in August.

Spectators enjoyed the baby sea lion pup, born June 3, 2012, to 10-year-old mom Gina and 8-year-old father Chino. This pup weighed 14.5 pounds at birth.

Sarah Dankof gentley wakes up a baby aardvark for its media debut in the nursery of the Henry Doorly Zoo on Sept. 28, 2005.

The baby aardvark checks out the strange legs in his room during its media debut in the nursery of the Henry Doorly Zoo on Sept. 28, 2005.

Baby penguins eat their fish at the Henry Doorly Zoo on April 9, 2008. Some of the fish will contain nutritional supplements.

Keeper Janice McNernie holds the second offspring of Timu, the world’s first test tube gorilla at the Henry Doorly Zoo on April 9, 2005.

Yasmin, a 28 year-old Bornean orangutan, and her a male baby are seen in the Hubbard Orangutan Forest at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Sept. 17, 2006.

A baby pronghorn hides in the grass at the Lee Simmons Wildlife Safari Park on June 18, 2002.

Henry Doorly Zoo exhibited two of its five artificially inseminated corn snakes to the public on July 29, 2005. The small reptiles were a product of ten years of reproductive physiology experiments and were hatched July 16, 2005.

A three-month-old pygmy hippo born at the Henry Doorly Zoo was introduced to the general public on March 24, 2006. The 60 pound hippopotamus and its mother swam and ate in the zoo’s 20,000 gallon pool in the Lied Jungle as the public watched.

Sepilok holds her baby at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium’s Hubbard Orangutan Valley on Thursday, December 11, 2014. They are Bornean orangutans.