Tbilisi Zoo Reopens Three Months After Deadly Flood
Parts of the Tbilisi zoo that survived deadly flood three months ago reopened to visitors on Sunday.
Devastating flood in central parts of Tbilisi from the night of June 13 to June 14, claimed the lives of 19 people, including three zoo employees; three people remain missing. It destroyed sections of the zoo, where enclosures of wild animals were located, but areas on higher ground remained mostly untouched by the flood.
Of more than 1,000 animals of different species, the zoo lost 277 animals; some were killed by the police, including a white tiger, which was on the loose and which attacked and killed a man in Tbilisi center not far from the zoo on June 17.
Director of the Tbilisi zoo, Zurab Gurielidze, said that about 150 animals will be received by the zoo with the help from the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) by the spring of next year.
The zoo will remain at its current location before the new one is built in Tbilisi outskirts.
An area of 48 hectares has been allocated at a reservoir, known as Tbilisi Sea, to house the new zoo, construction of which is expected to be over in three years.
Some parts of a highway, linking Tamarashvili street with the Heroes’ Square, which was damaged by the flood, will be reopened from the morning of September 14, according to the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office.
