Ukraine: Flood kills over 200 animals at zoo: official

A zoo in the Russian-occupied region of Ukraine was flooded this Tuesday (6), a direct result of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam. The incident resulted in the death of at least 200 animals. According to local representatives, through social networks only ducks and swans managed to save themselves.

The head of the park, Olena Navrotska, said she did not know if any other animals, besides birds, survived the torrent of water that invaded the place. The zoo was home to monkeys, raccoons, donkeys, ponies, porcupines, and turtles, as well as other species.

After the animal deaths were announced, images of the completely flooded zoo began to be published on the messaging application Telegram and on social networks, as well as videos prior to the accident that supposedly show the animals that lived there.

With the destruction of the dam, a large body of water has been flooding several locations on the banks of the Dnipro River. The zoo is located in the city of Nova Kakhovka, close to the dam and hydroelectric plant, and was the first to be hit by the flood. Images show the site being flooded. In front of important public buildings in the city, it was possible to see swans gliding over the water, as if they were on the river.

The floods also hit animals, both wild and domestic, in the area under Ukrainian control. In Kherson, the microdistrict of Korabel recorded water rising eight feet, close to the river port. Antonivskyi and Sadivskyi districts are also flooded. The local population had to take cows, dogs, goats and others to higher regions.

Operations to evacuate people and animals continue at an accelerated pace, especially as experts estimate that the body of water will grow on Wednesday, resulting in even more destruction. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from settlements along the southern stretch of the Dnipro River. “We have about 50 buses running between Kherson and the affected villages. In Kherson, we have four evacuation sites prepared,” said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, a senior official in the Ukrainian military administration in Kherson. On the Russian-controlled side, hundreds of people were also evacuated.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that there were “about 80 settlements in the flood zone”. He posted the information on Telegram after an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council. He went on to outline the timeline of events before emphasizing that all towns and villages in the region must be supplied with water.