Riga sends animals to flood-stricken Tbilisi Zoo

Riga is helping the Georgian capital Tbilisi restore the animal collection of the city zoo which was severely damaged in last year's floods, the local media reported.

Seven animals from the Riga Zoo collection, a Bactrian camel, three alpacas, a domestic yak and a pair of blue-and-yellow macaws, will be sent to Tbilisi under a donation agreement signed on Thursday by Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs and Riga Zoo Director Rolands Greizins.

"We are glad to be able to help the Tbilisi Zoo restore its exhibit," the Riga mayor said during the signing ceremony at the Riga Zoo.

A message on the containers in which the animals will be transported next week says that this is a present from Riga to Tbilisi. While the camel, the alpacas and the yak will be transported by land and sea, the birds will be flown to Tbilisi by plane.

A significant part of the Tbilisi Zoo's animal collection perished when an overnight flash flood struck the Georgian capital in June 2015, leaving the zoo's animals either dead or on the loose. Endit