“…Delta variant is associated with increased transmission rates in humans (CDC, 2021b , 2021c ; Li et al., 2022 ); the estimated average reproduction number (R0), or the expected number of secondary cases from one primary case in a susceptible population, is 5.1, significantly higher than early pandemic strains (estimated R0 2.79; Liu & Rocklöv, 2021 ). Whether the genomic changes facilitating transmission in humans also result in increased spread within other species is unknown but as SARS‐CoV‐2 variants emerge in human populations, these variants are expected to be identified in animals (Hamer, Ghai, et al., 2021 ; Hamer, Pauvolid‐Corrêa, et al., 2021 ; Yaglom et al., 2021 ).…”