Despite Assurances, Dangerous Zoo Animals Definitely Still Roaming City
A rescue worker in the Tbilisi flood zones was dramatically mauled by a tiger in front of several of his co-workers—just a day after the Georgian government assured residents that all the escaped zoo animals had been located.
According to the Washington Post, “volunteers swarmed the area to do cleanup” Tuesday after officials declared the city free of the dozens of lions, jaguars, bears, wolves, crocodiles, hyenas and other animals that escaped the Tbilisi zoo during the flood.
But as it turns out, several animals were still roaming the city—including the tiger, which was apparently hiding out in an abandoned factory near the zoo.
Georgian authorities had said Tuesday that the animals were accounted for. But there was finger-pointing Wednesday about why they had declared the all-clear. Zoo officials said on social media that they had told the government Tuesday that several animals remained at large.
Interior ministry spokeswoman Nino Giorgobiani tells the paper special forces officers were able to locate the tiger, which is apparently no longer a threat: “The tiger is liquidated.”
