2 tigers safe on Georgia safari after briefly escaping during tornado

Georgia officials have caught two tigers by the toe – after the dangerous animals fled a local zoo during a tornado on Sunday morning.

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office took to social media to note that a tiger had escaped early Sunday as it urged residents to stay off the streets during the ongoing storm.

Pine Mountain Safari – a zoo about 80 miles south of Atlanta where the animals were kept – added that a second tiger was also missing during the severe weather.

The safari company wrote on Facebook later that morning that the two missing tigers had been caught and returned to the facility.

“THE TIGERS ARE SAFE! Like much of southwest Georgia, Pine Mountain Safari suffered significant tornado damage this morning,” the park said in the post.

“Fortunately, none of our animals or staff were injured. However, several animal enclosures were breached and two tigers briefly escaped.”

“Both have now been found, sedated and returned safely to a secure enclosure,” the zoo said.

Pine Mountain Safari thanked the community for their support in the tornado recovery.

“We appreciate your concern and support at this difficult time. Pine Mountain Safari is committed to the safety of our employees, our animals, our customers and our community,” the zoo said. “We will continue to update this page with other relevant storm-related information as needed.”

The zoo also wrote on Facebook that it will be closing Sunday after the terrible tornado that struck two days after an outbreak of tornadoes that killed at least 26 people in Mississippi and one in Alabama.

President Biden made a major disaster declaration for Mississippi on Sunday.

A tornado watch was issued for parts of Georgia and Alabama through 1 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

A flash flood warning was issued for the area until 2 p.m