The deluge destroyed homes and buildings, and killed as many as 19 people. The situation was made worse by the hundreds of zoo animals that escaped during the floods and roamed the streets. Police have shot several, including a white tiger that killed a man Wednesday.
The zookeepers Bobek sent have flood experience. Prague Zoo was previously hit by severe floods in 2002 and in 2013. National Geographic spoke with Bobek about the challenges his colleagues face in Tbilisi. (Read our explorer Paul Salopek's take on the Tbilisi flood.)
What are the zookeepers you sent doing to help?
Right now our colleagues are extricating the cadavers of animals from mud. The mud in the zoo is waist-deep, and our people have to help each other to get out of it. A man stays still for a while and he starts disappearing like in sand dunes. Some time earlier, our people were cleaning penguins from motor oil.
How did the flooding help animals escape?
Water, mud, stones, and trunks quickly and completely destroyed the line of cages in the Vera River Valley, and the animals remained inside. From the exhibits which had openings at their tops, some animals were able to escape, but some died inside. This explains why the numbers of animals [that] escaped was unclear. The central belt of exhibits was two-thirds flooded, and the animals [that] survived, stayed on the dry land where they were safe. Only the upper line of aviaries, enclosures, and exhibits remained undamaged.
Were any Tbilisi Zoo employees hurt during the flood?
Three staff members died during the floods, not because they were attacked by carnivores.
How many animals died?
A large part of the 600 animals kept at Tbilisi Zoo before the floods, and almost half of all the mammals, are dead. The major part of the Zoo itself is located on a mere 9 hectares of absolutely improper terrain surrounded by construction and a busy street. This is why the relocation of the Zoo was long considered even before the current catastrophe. Now is a good opportunity to realize this. (See "Opinion: Killing Healthy Zoo Animals Is Wrong—And the Public Agrees.")
Is it known how many animals are still free?
The situation became complicated by the fact, that during the floods the army put the zoo staff members aside and was shooting the animals dead, and later it did not communicate with the zoo management. It led to totally contradictory information, even now it is not clear, if or where one tiger is wandering.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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