Escaped tiger kills man in Tbilisi

It was announced yesterday that all the big cats that escaped from Tbilisi zoo were found dead except one jaguar, but in fact the authorities had miscounted. One tiger hid in a warehouse, escaped the citywide police search and survived to kill a man this morning. 

One thinks of Hilaire Belloc's Jim and Stanley Holloway's Albert (they were eaten by lions, not tigers) but this is very sad. The full story is here.

My story in my blog on Sunday about lions and tigers, wolves and a hippopotamus wandering the streets of Tbilisi is no longer funny. It never was funny, as at least sixteen people died in the flood. Nevertheless I was making people laugh last night at a dinner party telling them about the lethargic hippo wandering the flooded streets after receiving several darts intended to make him fall asleep. 

It is a terrible story but, without wishing to show lack of respect for the dead man's loved ones, it also reminds me of this story by Graham Greene.