No less than 80 per cent of animals in the Maiduguri Zoo’s popularity known as Sanda Kyarimi Zoo Park, have died as a result of the reported floods in Borno State.
According to the General Manager of the zoo, Ali Abatcha, while 80 per cent of the animals in the zoo have been killed by the flood, others have escaped into the city capital.
This is as a report released by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the flooding in the zoo has reportedly led to some wild animals, including crocodiles and snakes, escaping their enclosures.
Flooding is reportedly covering over 40 per cent of Maiduguri town, which has an estimated population of over 870,000, including the Muna and Jere IDP camps, with a combined population of approximately 230,000.
On Tuesday, reports broke that some animals from the zoo, including snakes, crocodiles were seen in town.
Although a lion was reported to have escaped, its whereabouts is yet to be known as of press time.
The Federal Government has begun the evacuation of residents of the affected communities in the flooding.
A statement by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday, said it is also working on the provision of food, shelter and medical assistance for the victims.
The unfortunate flooding situation in the Maiduguri metropolis of Borno State, which started last weekend and increased in the early hours of Monday, 9th September 2024, resulted from excess water from the Alau Dam.
One of the spillways of Alau Dam collapsed, leading to a significant increase in water flow downstream and exacerbating the flooding in surrounding areas.
As a result, NEMA said the Borno State Government has opened up Bakassi Camp to accommodate those displaced by the flood.