Officials from a zoo in Shehu Sanda Kyarimi park, Maiduguri, have confirmed that some wild animals had escaped from captivity after flooding hit Borno State.
Videos of some of the creatures on the streets of the state capital, Maiduguri, have been widely shared on social media.
However, there have not been reports of animals attacking humans.
According to a Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the wild animals in the Shehu Sanda Kyarimi park, a popular zoo in the area are currently unknown as most of them escaped immediately the flood water overran the place.
The Chairman of CSOs, Lake-Chad Basin, Ahmed Shehu, said: “The Maiduguri bypass bridge is also filled and the bridge is already flooded. The zoo road is being flooded with water and it’s gushing to College Of Health Technology, Maiduguri, where students were already relocated to school of nursing. Also, the water is heading towards the commissioner of police junction through Damboa Road.
“The situation is so dire. The water flooded the zoo at midnight. Though no one can tell the situation of the animals but definitely they will scamper for safety and in the process cause harm to the community.
“It is the same water route that displaced people are taking, the animals will take too. Aside from wide animals escaping from the zoo, the Christians cemetery around Amb Baba Ahmed Jidda house in Old GRA has been submerged. This poses serious public health threats. Government needs to activate.
“I suggest an urgent need for the government to barricade the axis to ensure that the citizens are guided and as well protected from the wild animals. It’s very sad. The situation is beyond one’s imagination and calls for activation of emergency response mechanisms by all stakeholders. This is a moment for prayers and support to Maiduguri residents.”
Ali Donbest, who runs the Sanda Kyarimi Zoo, told the BBC that he does not know exactly how many animals are free but a hunt is on to locate them. One ostrich has been found but he advised residents to be careful.
Local media are reporting that Maiduguri is experiencing flooding on a scale that has not been seen for three decades with many forced to leave their homes.
Mr Donbest said that there had been some success in finding some of those that had escaped.
“We’ve been able to recapture the ostrich seen on the street and we also got a call that a crocodile had been found in another location but we cannot get there due to the floods,” he said.
He also said the cages where the lions and hyenas were kept had been submerged by floodwaters but cannot tell if they had escaped.
The zoo boss explained that the flood had damaged some of its walls enabling the animals to roam free.
However, not all the creatures spotted on the streets may be from the zoo.
“We got a report that a hippo was seen somewhere and we don’t have hippos in the zoo, so the waters might also disperse animals from other locations too,” he said.
Maiduguri resident Ishaq Sani told the BBC his biggest fear at the moment is to come across a wild animal.
He abandoned his home due to the floods and is now staying with a friend in another location.
This is the latest incident in a series of floods that have hit Nigeria recently. More than 170 people have died and tens of thousands have been forced from their homes across the country, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency has said.
