Georgia’s Prime Minister urges public to be aware of animals potentially on Tbilisi streets

"Avoid dark and hidden places; the missing tiger is not likely to go into an open space,” said Tbilisi Zoo director Zurab Gurielidze at this evening's meeting of the Governmental Emergency Headquarters.

At the meeting, held at 9pm at the Government Administration and broadcast live on local TV channels.

Gurielidze confirmed that one tiger and one striped hyena were still missing after the June 13 severe flooding.

He said the animals had not been found during ongoing cleaning work at Tbilisi Zoo, so it could not be excluded that they were already dead or still alive but out of the Zoo territory.

The enclosures are still full of mud. It is impossible to clear all of them so quickly to be sure that these animals are dead,” explained the Tbilisi Zoo director.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili called on every citizen to be aware that an animal could potentially be roaming Tbilisi streets, and if anyone noticed anything suspicious, not to try to manage the situation by themselves but to call the Emergency Service on 112.

The missing tiger was not white, it was young in age but of normal size, said the Zoo director. As for the striped hyena, it was less dangerous as it was the smallest of the true hyenas and attacks on humans occurred very rarely.

Prime Minister Garibashvili also commented on the recently started investigation into today's deadly tiger attack in central Tbilisi and the rumors that the director of Tbilisi Zoo could be detained after this tragic incident.

"It is absurd to talk about Zurab’s detention. It is provocation aimed to get our society, young generation and volunteers into a mistake. I saw what the UNM representatives are trying to do …. [and] I want to call on all politicians to act in this crisis time in a way that meets the country’s best interests not their own political interests. I will be the first to defend Zurab, if necessary,” emphasized Garibashvili at the meeting.

Earlier today after two-hour questioning at the Chief Prosecutor’s Office Gurielidze said: "Unfortunately, the tiger that we believed was dead following the flooding turned out to be alive… I understand that the state agencies spread the information that the streets were safe after I provided them with this information.”

The Prime Minister commented on the incident and said it was almost certain today's tiger attack could be assessed as a "tragic incident” but it was the prosecutors’ job to answer all questions.