MOSCOW
— A white tiger that had survived this weekend’s torrential flooding
killed a man on Wednesday and was shot and killed itself, putting a
horrifying end to a thoroughly depressing and occasionally bizarre few
days for residents in Tbilisi,
Georgia.
At least 19 people died in the deluge, which
decimated the city zoo, a beloved institution that has become the most vivid symbol of the tragedy.
Six
people remained missing on Wednesday and damage from the flooding was
estimated at $45 million. Among the dead were three workers at the zoo,
which lost more than 300 of its 600 animals, including bears, tigers,
lions, reptiles and birds, said Mzia Sharashidze, a spokeswoman for the
zoo reached by telephone.
Swollen
by heavy rains, the Vere River, which flows through the heart of this
city of more than one million, burst its banks late Saturday night,
sending a torrential wave down the hills overlooking the zoo and other
flood-prone areas of Tbilisi
As
the waters rose, residents from nearby high-rises posted pictures on
social media and said that people trapped in the flood area were using
flashlights to signal for help.
“People
in nearby houses could hear others screaming for help, please save us,”
Zaza Shatirishvili, a literary critic and university professor, said in
a telephone interview. “But they could not do anything. There was no
light.”
Many
of the animals whose enclosures were located on the hillside, like
elephants and zebras, survived, Ms. Sharashidze said. The worst affected
were the predators, the lions, tigers and bears that lived in the basin
of the valley.
When
some of those animals swam out of their enclosures and sought higher
ground, many were shot by the police, Ms. Sharashidze said, though she
could not say how many.
“This
is what happens when it is the question of an animal life or a human
life,” she said by telephone. “For us it was a really big tragedy,” she
continued. “They were like children for our zookeepers, they had nursed
many of them from childhood.”
As
the floodwaters receded on Sunday morning, surreal scenes were revealed
in the capital: a bear perched on a second-story windowsill, a
crocodile lurking next to cars on a washed-out road and a hippopotamus
grazing from a tree.
The
police fanned out to tranquilize or, citing security concerns, kill the
escaped animals. On Monday, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili
announced that the police had accounted for all the animals that posed a
threat to humans. After the tiger attack on Wednesday, he apologized,
saying he had been misled by officials at the zoo, and said patrols
would continue.
Chairman of
the Society of Animal Protection and Safety Teimuraz Tsiklauri said:
'Under such stress, animals can hide for two or three days.'
He warned that if there are more animals hiding in the city, they may now begin to feel hungry and may come out to feed.
He
spoke as fresh panic hit Tbilisi this evening after a woman working in a
local restaurant reported seeing animal she took for a tiger outside.
Rustavi-2
TV channel also reported calls from locals that a hyena was on the
loose in the city. The reports could not be immediately confirmed.
Tinatin
Dias, a popular Tbilisi-based blogger, wrote of the 'second tiger':
'Just watched a girl seeing some animal on the intersection of Rizhskaya
and Paliashvili streets, which she thought looked very much like a
tiger.
'Immediately
after she said it, police car, ambulance, TV mobile studios and just
passers-by with their iPhones gathered in a huge bubbling crowd, all
noisy and expecting a tiger.
'Reportedly the tiger hid in a basement of a newly built apartment block.
'A
helicopter flew over the spot. The girl has been taken away to be
questioned by police, the tiger is nowhere to be seen but the crowd is
still there, iPhones ready, waiting for the tiger to appear. Honestly,
this city is going mad!'
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Nino Giorgobiani confirmed that the police had mobilised in search of the mystery animal.
k
An excavator removes a dead bear from the zoo in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Zookeepers say that of the roughly 600 animals in their care, more than
half perished in a 'hellish whirlpool' or died at the hands of the
authorities.
Dead bears are piled into a digger at the zoo in Tbilisi, Georgia, after heavy flooding that also killed 17 people
Distressing sight: Zookeepers drag a dead lion out of the mud at the zoo
in Tbilisi. Most of the animals appeared to have been killed when water
and mud inundated their enclosures
The 'albino tiger' was so dirty from the flooding that it was initially believed to be a lion, according to local media.
News
of the death comes hours after the government said all of the missing
lions and tigers had been accounted for, based on a report from
zookeepers.
Senior
security official Mindiya Dzhanelidze accused the zoo of yesterday
giving the government false information that all the animals had been
found, dead or alive.
This was 'wrong information' and today 'it turned out that a predator was outside the zoo'.
The director and deputy head of the zoo were being questioned by prosecutors over the alleged false report.
Meanwhile,
an African penguin that escaped from the zoo is believed to have been
found in neighbouring Azerbaijan after swimming 30 miles along the river
from Tbilisi.
A
team of experts has been dispatched to bring the bird back to Georgia
after it was spotted in the River Vere near the border, it was reported
by Gruzia Online news agency.
The human death toll rose to 19 yesterday as workers continued to comb the flood-damaged areas.
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Apocalyptic: A tranquilized hippo is
pushed along the street in Tbilisi after escaping from the zoo during
flash floods in the Georgian capital which allowed dozens of wild
animals to run amok across the city
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Rescuers carry a large crocodile to
safety after it was found under a pile of wood and debris in Tbilisi
following heavy floods in the Georgian capital
Six people were still missing, the state security council said in a statement. 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 yesterday found
the carcasses of three lions, a tiger and two wolves.
Most of the animals appeared to have been killed when water and mud inundated their enclosures.
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A rescue worker tends to the body of a
lion near to a flooded area of the zoo in Tbilisi on Sunday after a
deluge of heavy rain and wind. Another lion killed a man on Wednesday
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A woman's body was found in a car buried under debris after flash flooding hit Tbilisi early on Sunday
However,
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.
Haunting
pictures of frightened or dead animals made headlines around the world
and stirred controversy over the government's handling of Georgia's
deadliest floods in decades.
The
head of the Georgian Orthodox Church blamed the floods on the 'sin' of
Communists who he said built the zoo using money raised from destroying
churches and melting down their bells.
Activists
are also demanding an investigation into revelations that police shot
many of the creatures dead as they roamed the streets.
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A bear tries to escape from the rising
and rapid flood waters by clambering on top of debris after it broke
free from Tbilisi Zoo when the animals' pens were destroyed by the
water
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Armed police stand on patrol in a
flooded street in Tbilisi, where six tigers, six lions and eight bears
broke free from their enclosures
The aftermath of Sunday's deluge - which tore through the capital Tbilisi, wrecking the zoo - looked both tragic and surreal.
A hippopotamus swam in the muddy flood waters and a bear perched on an air-conditioning unit on the side of a building.
The corpses of a lion and a pony lay on the road, while a huge alligator made its way past parked cars.
Zookeepers
say that of the roughly 600 animals in their care, more than half had
perished in a 'hellish whirlpool' or died at the hands of the
authorities.
It remains unclear how many were shot dead by police, but they include lions, tigers and wolves.
Critics say that in at least in some of the cases, the animals did not need to be shot.
'There
are signs that in some instances animals were killed just because
police overreacted,' said Tina Chavchanidze, chair of the Tbilisi-based
Committee for Animal Rights.
'This must be investigated.'
SOURCE: Dailymail
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