2 tigers escape after storm damages safari park in Georgia

2 tigers escape after storm damages safari park in Georgia

Two tigers were recaptured on Sunday after escaping a safari park in west Georgia.

“Like much of Southwest Georgia, Pine Mountain Safari sustained extensive tornado damage this morning,” says a post on the drive-through safari park’s Facebook page. “Fortunately, none of our animals and employees were hurt. However, several animal enclosures were breeched, and two tigers briefly escaped. Both have now been found, tranquilized, and safely returned to a secure enclosure.”

Around 6:30 a.m. EST, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that they had received a report about a tiger that was unaccounted for at the park.

Neither the park nor the sheriff’s office could be reached by AL.com for comment Sunday morning.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on Sunday, as local news outlets reported that dozens of buildings sustained damage and multiple people were injured as two likely tornadoes ripped through Troup and Baldwin counties.

Storms in the South have impacted Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia over the weekend.

Early Sunday morning, President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi, making federal funding available to some of the areas hit the hardest. Over 25 people have died, and dozens more were injured due to damage from tornadoes.

One man from Alabama was killed after his trailer flipped several times in Friday’s storms.