Tbilisi City Hall unveils sculpture of hippo that escaped from Tbilisi Zoo in 2015 flood
Commissioned from contemporary Georgian sculptor Erekle Tsuladze, the stainless steel monument has been produced using “modern technology”, the city authorities said, and comes following a competition for a sketch of the sculpture, announced in 2019. Photo: Tbilisi City Hall.
Tweet 
Share
A sculpture of hippopotamus Begi, who escaped the Tbilisi Zoo during the June 13, 2015 flood in the capital, has been unveiled by Tbilisi City Hall in Mziuri Park, a popular recreational area in the city.
Commissioned from contemporary Georgian sculptor Erekle Tsuladze, the stainless steel monument has been produced using “modern technology”, the city authorities said, and comes following a competition for a sketch of the sculpture, announced in 2019.
The winning sketch was selected by a 12-member commission set up by the state body, and commemorates the hippopotamus that gained recognition from photographs of the flood published by international media.
In the photos, Begi was seen strolling the streets of the capital city following its escape as the Zoo was entirely flooded during the night of June 13, 2015
The flash flood turned into the city’s worst human and infrastructure disaster in decades, claiming lives of 21 Tbilisi citizens as well as numerous animals from the downtown Zoo, which lost half of its animal population.
Six years have passed since the Georgian capital of Tbilisi was hit by a deadly flash flood, which turned out to be the city’s worst human and infrastructural disaster in decades, claiming 21 lives, with the remains of two still missing.
Authorities have discovered the bodies of two more victims of the Tbilisi flood, bringing the death toll to 14.
Georgian officials have confirmed a 10th person has died following major flooding in Georgia's capital Tbilisi overnight. Several wild animals that escaped from Tbilisi Zoo, including tigers, bears and wolves, are still on the loose in city streets.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze on Monday paid a tribute to the victims of the June 13, 2015 Tbilisi flood that claimed 21 lives.
Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi, has revealed the Mziuri park, a popular recreational destination in the capital, will expand following the purchase of an area of up to 18,000 square metres by the city hall.
A sculpture dedicated to stray dogs will be unveiled in downtown Tbilisi’s Vaso Godziashvili garden on Sunday as a recognition of animals in the city. Created by Georgian artist Gela Patiashvili, whose work features themes of animals and, in particular, dogs, the work was produced within a contest of Tbilisi city hall’s Creative Tbilisi Programme.
Disaster relief works are underway in the eastern Georgian municipality of Gurjaani, located in the Kakheti region, where houses, roads and dozens of cars were hit by floods and damaged following heavy rains and hail on Thursday.
Tbilisi City Hall has completed the construction of a new recreational space in the vicinity of Mziuri Park, a popular recreational destination in the capital city, Mayor Kakha Kaladze said on Wednesday.