Crocodiles and snakes ‘washed into communities’ as flood hits Nigerian zoo

Park in Borno state says more than 80% of its animals have been killed and urges residents to take precautions

Floods in northern Nigeria have killed more than 80% of the animals in a large zoo housing wildlife from lions and crocodiles to buffalo and ostriches, the facility has said.

“Some deadly animals have been washed away into our communities, like crocodiles and snakes,” the Sanda Kyarimi Park zoo added in a statement on the floods in the northern Borno state, urging residents to take precautions.

Floods began when a dam overflowed after heavy rains, uprooting thousands of people.

The disaster has affected other facilities in the state capital, Maiduguri, including a post office and a teaching hospital, said the office of the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, which told people to evacuate the worst-hit areas.

“President Tinubu extends his heartfelt condolences to the government and people of the state, especially to the families that have lost their means of livelihood due to the disaster triggered by the overflow of the Alau Dam,” the statement said, saying humanitarian needs would be addressed.

Floods in the north-east of Nigeria killed at least 49 people last month, while a flood in 2022 killed more than 600.

Borno state, the birthplace of the Boko Haram jihadist organisation, also continues to grapple with a 15-year insurgency that has killed and displaced many.

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