A White Bengal tiger that escaped from Tbilisi zoo following flooding on the weekend was shot dead Wednesday by Georgian special forces after it mauled a man to death, according to officials.
"The animal was aggressive and it had to be liquidated," the Georgian Interior Ministry said in a statement. Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri arrived at the scene after the killing.
Hundreds of animals, including bears, tigers, wolves, hippos and lions, escaped from Tbilisi zoo following June 14 flooding, and most were subsequently killed by animal control officers or recaptured.
The tiger was reportedly hiding in a storage facility near the flooded zoo.
The killing comes after Georgian officials said Tuesday that there were no longer any escaped animals on the loose and there was no need for panic, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
An African penguin that escaped from the zoo was found at the country's border with neighboring Azerbaijan, the Georgia Online news website reported Wednesday. The penguin was found on a bridge over the Khrami River, which separates the two countries. The distance from Tbilisi to the bridge is about 60 kilometers.
A representative of the zoo said that someone had been dispatched for the penguin and it would soon be brought back to Tbilisi.
