Tbilisi Flood.

N

nrg800

Well-Known Member
Overnight a flash flood affected the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, damaging much of the town but also flooding Tbilisi Zoo, and allowing many of the animals to escape. The animals include 13 wolves, 6 tigers, 6 lions,7 bears, along with hippos and crocodile, upto 31 animals all together. Reports are very flakey and also mostly in Georgian, but so far police have killed at least one lion near a theater, and three wolves in the garden of the Children's Hospital. Hippos (which seem to be deetoothed, based on photos) are being rounded up, and at least one bear has been tranquilized. 1 woman has been killed by the escaped lions, and three zookeepers have died, though it is unknown if this is due to the flooding or the escaped animals. Overall 11 people have died. Will update with further news.
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Besides the escapees, only ungulates, elephants, several birds and carnivores are said to have survived, since they were living in upper part of the zoo where water didn't get to them.
 
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Just a slight update. The N section of the zoo has not been flooded. This area as Elephas Maximus said contains a number of the species, and, in addition to his list the reptile house. About 1/2 of the zoo's animals are reportedly missing, though a number of them are assumed drowned. Upto 31 have escaped, and at least 2 Lions, 6 Wolves, 1 (White) Tiger, Bear and Hyena have been killed, and others have been captured. Security forces have tried to tranquilize when the animal poses no threat to safety.
Slightly NSFW footage showing the overall devestation is available Flash Flood Ravages Georgian Capital.
And I would appreciate ID of this animal, it appears to be a (striped?) hyena.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CHdQq0NXAAAU4xP.jpg (Dead animal trigger warning)
 
Georgia flooding sees Tbilisi Zoo animals loose in the streets | Daily Mail Online

According to this article, human death toll has risen to 12 and 6 wolves were killed when found in the vicinity of a children's hospital.

Also: " 'Some 20 wolves, eight lions, white tigers, tigers, jackals, jaguars have either been shot dead by special forces or are missing. Only three out of our 17 penguins were saved.' "

I think I read elsewhere that at least one hyena was also killed, and that the Prague Zoo and other Czech facilities have sent a team of specialists to aid in recovering the animals.

Edit: Here is that article:http://rt.com/news/267073-tbilisi-flood-wild-animals/
 
A statement from EAZA confirms that keepers from Praha, Ramat Gan and Jerusalem Biblical Zoo are on their way to assist with the rescue and recapture efforts:

The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) is shocked to hear of the flooding of the city of Tbilisi and its zoo, which resulted in the death of three members of zoo staff, and the escape and shooting of many of its animals. Tbilisi Zoo is a Candidate for Membership of EAZA, and has been developing its facilities and working practices to meet the standards of the Association under the supervision of an experienced mentor.

EAZA members Prague Zoo (which has had experience of reacting to catastrophic floods) Jerusalem Zoo and Ramat Gan Safari Park, will be sending teams of keepers and veterinarians to Tbilisi to assist with efforts to recapture and contain escaped animals, and make the facility safe for the staff and animals as the water recedes. EAZA is obliged to repeat the call from the Director of Tbilisi Zoo, Zura Gurielidze, for citizens to remain calm and contact authorities if they encounter any wild animal in the city or the surrounding area. On no account should private citizens attempt to recapture or shoot the animals, which should be considered dangerous.

EAZA is gathering information from sources in Tbilisi and elsewhere to build a complete picture of the situation and will be in contact with our members to ascertain how we as a community can most effectively assist. At this stage, we do not know if and when the zoo site will become safe enough for the return of staff and animals; nonetheless, EAZA and its members will do everything possible to assist the local authorities and the management of the zoo ensure the security of the facility and the welfare of the animals.

The EAZA community offers its sincere condolences to the families of the staff who lost their lives. The Association also offers its condolences to the staff of the zoo who have lost not only their friends and colleagues, but also many of the animals they cared for.
 
Currently missing (not captured, shot or found dead) are: 1 bear, 2 tigers and hyena.
6 penguins of 17 have survived.
It's now decided by city officilals to rebuild the zoo on the before-planned new territory adjacent to Tbilisi Sea (artificial lake)
 
If the end result is to build a new (and hopefully better) zoo in a better location, then perhaps some good will result from this tragedy.
 
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I have sent all members with deleted posts a pm regarding my deletions. Please keep this thread on the topic of the floods and not the deletions, thanks.

Chlidonias
 
another article on the fate of many of the zoo animals.
All lions, tigers found dead after Tbilisi zoo flooding | Local News - WMUR Home
All of the lions and tigers that were missing after severe flooding swamped Tbilisi's zoo have been found dead.

One jaguar remained unaccounted for, but zoo staff said they have little hope that it survived.

The discovery of the last of the missing lions and tigers on Tuesday as the waters receded eased fears in the capital of Georgia, an ex-Soviet republic, that some of the big cats were still wandering the hills of the city.

The human death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday when the body of a missing woman was found in a children's park, the police said.

Seven people are still missing after an intense downpour that began late Saturday turned a stream that runs through the city into a raging torrent that destroyed houses and tore up roads. About 40 families lost their homes.

Zoo spokeswoman Mziya Sharashidze said eight lions, all seven of the zoo's tigers and at least two of its three jaguars were killed. Only two of the zoo's 14 bears survived, while nine of its 17 penguins died, she said.

Ivane Daraseliya, chief veterinarian for the zoo, said staff on Tuesday found the carcasses of three lions, a tiger and two wolves.

A young white lion named Shumba, one of the zoo's most beloved attractions, was found shot in the head on zoo territory on Sunday. Most of the animals appeared to have been killed when water and mud inundated their enclosures.

The flooding also killed hundreds of homeless dogs at a private shelter near the zoo, shelter staff said.
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The Guardian reports that an escaped lion killed a man

Lion that escaped from Georgia zoo has killed a man, says official | World news | The Guardian

A lion that escaped from a zoo in the Georgian capital during freak floods at the weekend killed a man in the city centre on Wednesday, an interior ministry spokeswoman has said.

“A lion from the Tbilisi zoo killed a man” near the capital’s central square, the spokeswoman said. “Police special forces were deployed and are hunting down the animal.”

Georgian media said the lion had been hiding in a warehouse and escaped the citywide police search for the escaped animals, many of which were shot dead.

On Tuesday, authorities said that all of the lions and tigers that were missing after the flooding had been found dead. One jaguar remained unaccounted for, the said, but zoo staff had little hope that it survived.

An intense downpour that began late on Saturday turned a stream that runs through Tbilisi into a raging torrent that destroyed houses and tore up roads. At least 17 people were killed and about 40 families lost their homes.

The flooding ravaged the city’s central districts including the zoo. Hundreds of animals – including lions, tigers, wolves and a hippo – escaped.

Over half of the animals - some 300 species - either drowned in the muddy waters or were killed by police. A young white lion named Shumba, one of the zoo’s most beloved attractions, was found shot in the head on zoo territory on Sunday.

The flooding also killed hundreds of homeless dogs at a private shelter near the zoo, shelter staff said.
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And another story from Monday which I don't think has been shared:

Georgia police accused of unnecessarily shooting zoo animals in wake of floods
Officers sent to Tbilisi zoo posed for photographs with dead lions and tigers like big-game hunters, say staff at zoo that has lost half of its animals

Georgia police accused of unnecessarily shooting zoo animals in wake of floods | World news | The Guardian

Special police units called to Tbilisi zoo during this weekend’s devastating flood have been accused of overreacting by unnecessarily shooting many of the animals, as hundreds of volunteers joined the clear-up effort at the flattened site.

Some policemen were seen taking selfies alongside the bodies of tigers, lions and other large animals that they had shot, posing like big-game hunters, two zoo staff in Georgia’s capital city told the Guardian.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said one worker, in tears as she spoke, and asking not to be named. “It was like a trophy for them.”

In one case, staff said a wolf they had successfully tranquilised and safely tethered was then shot by police as it lay on the ground. Only three of the zoo’s original 20 wolves survived.

The Georgian government says at least 13 people were killed when a small river running through the city burst its banks, flooding several residential areas and the zoo in just minutes. After a disaster that caught the city completely off guard, 11 people are still reported missing.

The zoo now believes it has lost more than half of its animals, including all its tigers, and most of its lions and bears. And, while some escaped, including bears and a hippo, it now appears most animals either drowned or were shot inside the zoo park boundary.

More reports came in during the day on Monday of escaped animals in the streets, including a panther, but so far “all have turned out to be hoaxes and rumours”, said zoo director Zurab Gurielidze, as he fielded an endless series of calls.

Begi, the large hippo that was rescued from the streets outside the zoo on Sunday, has now been placed inside one of the elephant cages, on higher ground not affected by the flooding.

Young volunteers in T-shirts and boots have been helping zoo staff clear the dense, cloying mud that now covers much of the zoo, and have been pulling out dozens of animal carcasses, including several lions.

One of the zoo vets went quiet as he recognised one of the bodies as Shumba, a rare white lion cub they had been caring for separately after it was rejected by its birth mother. To keep it company, the zoo had placed the cub with a dog and they became inseparable. The dog, called Karikula, survived.

“The police special forces told us they shot Shumba because he was drowning,” said zoo secretary Julia Kandarova, as she watched the recovery effort from the zoo’s headquarters, which still bore a muddy water mark from the flooding beyond the first floor. “But was it necessary to kill him?”

It seems the torrent was caused by a blockage upstream in the usually small Vera river through the city, which burst after Saturday’s unusually heavy rains.

But some workers expressed support for the police actions, especially as the deluge of water meant lions and tigers could leap out of their cages and on to a nearby road.

“It was night time and there were wild animals running around,” said one of the zoo’s vets, Ivane Daresalia. “They had to be careful in that situation.”

Gurielidze, who was himself caught in the flood as he was checking on the animals, said: “We still don’t know exactly what happened, but there needs to be a full investigation.”

A Georgian government spokesman said: “We have not heard reports of police taking selfies with the animals,” and added: “The police did the best they could and tried to save as many animals as possible.”
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One correction it was actually one of the white tigers that killed a man in one of the buildings in the same neighborhood as the zoo. The man was brought to the hospital but was already dead when he arrived. The tiger was shot.
 
DDcorvus said:
One correction it was actually one of the white tigers that killed a man in one of the buildings in the same neighborhood as the zoo. The man was brought to the hospital but was already dead when he arrived. The tiger was shot.
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That's now been reported by the Guardian too:

Police in the Georgian capital Tbilisi say a tiger that broke loose after severe flooding at a zoo over the weekend has killed one man and wounded another, before being shot by marksmen.

Georgia police say tiger that escaped from zoo has killed a man | World news | The Guardian
 
Here is another updated article, that notes that the lion mentioned above was actually a white tiger, and that two further animals, a tiger cub and hyena are still unaccounted for. The director has admitted he did not have all the information when he stated that all predators were accounted for.

In good news, one of the penguins was recaptured alive by Georgian border guards near Azerbaijan, about 40km from Tblisi on the Kura River.

Story here: Tiger mauls man after zoo escape | Stuff.co.nz

A tiger that broke loose after severe flooding at a Georgian zoo has mauled a man to death before being shot by police.

This was a day after officials said all of Tbilisi Zoo's tigers had died.

Zoo Director Zurab Gurielidze acknowledged he was to blame for releasing incorrect information and said new counts indicated a tiger cub and a hyena could still be on the loose.

Armed men search for a tiger that escaped when floods destroyed its enclosure in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The city has remained on edge, with runaway predators reportedly seen by some residents.

The Interior Ministry in the former Soviet republic said the tiger was hiding at an abandoned factory that had been turned into a construction market when he attacked the man on Wednesday (local time).

The victim, who worked at the market, later died of his wounds at a hospital.

"We entered the depot and, suddenly, a white tiger rushed out of an adjacent room and attacked one of the workers, jumping at his throat and mauling him," colleague Alexander Shavbulashvili said.

"We broke the window of another room to flee, and the sound of breaking glass must have scared it and it ran away."

Police commandos rushed to the site and killed the tiger.

"It was a white tiger," Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said. "We wanted to sedate it, but it was very aggressive and we had to liquidate it."

Zoo spokeswoman Khatia Basilashvili couldn't immediately offer any details about the dead tiger. The zoo administration had said that eight lions, all the zoo's seven tigers and at least two of its three jaguars and 12 of its 14 bears were killed in the flooding.

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili criticised zoo officials for providing false information and ordered the interior minister to personally oversee the count of how many animals have died and how many remain missing.

"I want to offer my apology to the population," he said.

After the premier's statement, the zoo director acknowledged he was to blame for the misinformation.

"We had wrong information that there were no predators outside the zoo," he said. "I take full responsibility for that."

Gurielidze said a tiger cub could also be roaming the city streets, but said he "poses no threat to people."

The flooding, triggered by torrential rains over the weekend, killed at least 19 people, destroyed houses and tore up roads. Six people remain missing.

The zoo said that one of its 17 penguins was found alive by Georgian border guards in the Kura River near the border with Azerbaijan, 40km east of the capital. Eight other penguins had been found alive earlier.

Zoo officials say less than half of the zoo's 600 inhabitants have survived the flooding.
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for anyone wary of stand-alone links the one in the post above is about support for the zoo, either through donations or volunteers (if one is in the country).
 
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