Lions and Tigers are on the Loose After Floods in Tibilisi, Georgia
Wild animals escaped a Tibilisi, Georgia zoo when their enclosures were destroyed
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A surprise flood has killed dozens in the Georgian city of Tibilisi — and now, more lives are being threatened by another unusual menace: loose zoo animals that escaped when their enclosures were destroyed. Bloomberg’s Helena Bedwell reports that the hunt for the escaped animals continues as the city struggles to come to terms with other casualties of Sunday’s flash flood.
The flood killed at least 13 people, writes Bedwell, causing “irreparable damage” to many homes and buildings. Bedwell reports that people are being told to stay indoors while officials try to locate lions, tigers, and a jaguar.
Those aren’t the only animals that escaped from the flooded zoo, writes The Associated Press’ Misha Zhindzhikhashvili. When a local stream became a torrent of rushing water flooded by heavy rain, it rushed through the zoo, killing at least three zookeepers, many animals like wolves and a hippopotamus panicked and fled. Bedwell reports that at least two crocodiles were found beneath rubble at the zoo.
As local residents mourn humans and try to keep safe from animals, others are questioning the way in which the zoo escape was handled. Zhindzhikhashvili writes that when a white lion cub named Shumba was discovered with a gunshot in its head, the zoo director demanded an inquiry into that shooting and several others.
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