Escaped lion kills man in Tbilisi 24 hours after city given big cat all-clear

A lion has killed one man in a city centre, and reportedly wounded another person, after escaping from a zoo. The animal, which fled its enclosure in Tbilisi Zoo after it was destroyed by heavy flooding, is yet to be captured by special forces. Hippopotamuses, bears and wolves were on the streets in Georgia’s capital following the severe weather - but the country’s Prime Minister had insisted that all dangerous animals had been accounted for. Many of the animals have drowned in the floodwaters, while others were euthanised or shot dead by police.

A lion from the Tbilisi zoo killed a man. Police special forces were deployed and are hunting down the animal.

Georgian interior ministry spokeswoman

On Tuesday, zoo spokeswoman Mziya Sharashidze had said eight lions, all seven of the zoo’s tigers and at least two of its three jaguars were killed. Only two of the zoo’s 14 bears survived, while nine of its 17 penguins died, she added. Hundreds of homeless dogs at a private shelter near the zoo also died in the flooding, according to staff. At least 19 people were killed and up to 10 are still unaccounted for after the torrential downpours on Saturday.

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