TBILISI, Georgia – The zoo in Georgia’s capital has reopened three months after a devastating flood that killed more than half of its 600 animals, including about 20 tigers, lions and jaguars.
The Tbilisi zoo has restored only its upper section, abandoning the lower section that was hit by a torrent of muddy floodwaters on June 13. Plans call for moving the zoo entirely to another location, but it will take several years to build the new enclosures.
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Among the animals greeting the first visitors on Sunday was the zoo’s hippopotamus, which had escaped during the flood and was found lumbering through a flooded city square nearby.
Zoo director Zurab Gurielidze said some new animals already have been born since the flood and the zoo plans to acquire others by next spring.
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