![]() Zoo Atlanta has reared more than 100 eastern indigo snakes for the reintroduction program. Prior to the launch, the eastern indigo snake had not been sighted in the wild in Alabama for around 50 years.Īccording to Zoo Atlanta, these snakes are a keystone species of the longleaf pine-wiregrass and sandhills ecosystem, and their presence has significant positive ecological benefits for the national forest. I am very sorry that Georgians fell so that a zoo was built at the expense of destroyed churches.A southeast ecosystem recently welcomed over 20 of its original members with the reintroduction to the wild of a group of eastern indigo snakes reared at Zoo Atlanta.Ī total of 25 snakes were released into Alabama’s Conecuh National Forest, near Andalusia, Alabama, on June 25 as part of a longtime conservation partnership to help to reestablish a native species in its original range. "When Communists came to us in this country, they ordered that all crosses and bells of the churches be melted down and the money used to build the zoo," he said. The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as telling a Sunday Mass that Georgia's former Communist rulers bear responsibility for the disaster. "It's simply possible that someone exceeded his authority." "Our Shumba is no more," he lamented, according to the news agency Interfax. Zoo director Zurab Gurielidze said one of the park's most beloved attractions, a young white lion named Shumba, had been found shot in the head. Some officials accused authorities of using unnecessary force against the wild beasts. "I don't know where to sit, where to lie, what to do." "On this small street there are five dead, three houses completely washed out and everyone is affected," said Lamara Zumburidze, a resident of the hardest-hit section of the city. Helicopters circled the city, and volunteers and rescue workers labored to help residents despite the danger from the escaped animals. The floodwaters gouged huge chunks out of roads and swamped numerous homes. (MORE: Alabama Earthquakes Stun Residents and Geologists Alike) Three zoo workers were found dead on its grounds, including a woman who less than a month ago lost an arm in a tiger attack. But she said five lions were unaccounted for and many monkeys had escaped. Zoo spokeswoman Mzia Sharashidze said a count of the escaped animals was not immediately possible because so many of the zoo's enclosures were under water. I sat on the balcony with them and played games, so they could breathe some fresh air," said 25-year-old Khatuna Bolkvadze, a mother of two who lives near the zoo. The youngsters can't go out and walk around. The carcasses of at least a lion, a boar and a tiger were seen, and zoo authorities said six wolves were also dead.Īuthorities said the animals may have fled to just about any corner of Tbilisi, including the forests on the steep hills in the city's heart. Other animals were hunted down and killed. Among the beasts that escaped were bears, wolves and monkeys.Ī hippopotamus - an extremely aggressive animal with the ability to run faster than humans in short bursts - was spotted lumbering through a flooded square not far from the zoo and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. There were no immediate reports that any of the dead were killed by the animals, which ran off after the floodwaters destroyed their enclosures. "Slow-moving low pressure aloft centered over northern Turkey pumped at least double the average atmospheric moisture for mid-June into Georgia this weekend," said meteorologist Jon Erdman. "This set the stage for slow-moving areas of heavy rain in the nation's capital." Officials said 12 people were known to have died and about two dozen others were missing. Heavy rain turned a normally pleasant city stream into a fierce torrent that destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes in the former Soviet republic. (MORE: Flood Threat Returns To Southern Plains This Week) They haven’t been fed, and in their hungry state, they might attack people. Resident Khariton Gabashvili told the Associated Press, “The daytime wasn’t bad, but tonight, everyone has to be very careful because all the beasts haven’t been captured. As night fell, some of the creatures were still loose in the city of 1.1 million, deepening fear. Police hunted for the animals, warning residents to stay inside. Floodwaters ravaged the city zoo, triggering a citywide, big-game hunt for escaped lions, tigers, a hippopotamus and other dangerous animals. Twelve people were killed Sunday when severe flooding slammed Tbilisi, capital city of the European country of Georgia.
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