VLADIVOSTOK, September 1. /TASS/. Evacuation of animals from the flooded Zelyony Ostrov (Green Island) zoo in the Far-Eastern city of Ussuriysk has been suspended at the request from the veterinarians assisting the operation, a spokesman for the city administration said.
The vets believe that the enfeebled and overstressed bears may get over the hoisting and transportation of their cages badly and a much better option is to leave them in the zoo.
"Floodwater is subsiding very fast and it will leave the zoo's territory soon enough," he said. "The veterinarians have examined the animals that are underfed and scared now. Specialists say an additional stress may only aggravate their condition further."
Rescuer workers are also worried by the poor technical condition of many cages.
"A diver has examined the locks and fixings and he says some cages are in a poor condition and fall apart in the process of hoisting," the spokesman said.
Military specialists, rescuers, vets, and volunteers remain in the vicinity of the zoo that submerged in the floodwater after the virtually torrential showers, which poured down on Russia's Primorsky territory on Sunday, August 30. Specialists are watching all the time changes in the water levels and the animals' condition.
The operation to evacuate fourteen bears, three hybrid wolf-dogs, a lion, a swamp lynx, and two wild boars began at dawn on Tuesday. The vets examined the animals and made a conclusion that there were no risks for their lives.
It is not known exactly how many animals died in the Green Island zoo after the flooding but the deaths of two bears have been confirmed. One of them, the she-bear Masyanya was a real joy of the visitors.