Three workers of the Kumasi Zoo were trapped when the facility got flooded after torrential rains destroyed parts of the wall.
Luckily, all the three persons, whose lives were in danger, were rescued on time to prevent possible deaths.
The heavy rains also trapped the wild animals in their cages for several hours, but luckily all the animals were saved.
Dr. M.Y. Ziekah, the Kumasi Zoo Manager, made the disclosure when the Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi, visited the facility.
According to him, the facility got flooded because of the collapse of the Zoo’s wall.
Dr. Ziekah said staff of the facility did a yeoman’s job by rescuing the animals, thereby preventing possible deaths or escape of animals.
He appealed to government to help renovate the old structures at the zoo, which is almost 60 years old in order to attract more people.
Dr. Ziekah disclosed that patronage of the zoo now stands at a meager 30,000 annually, with 80 percent of the visitors being students.
He bemoaned the low patronage, disclosing that patronage stood at 180,000 annually some time ago and it reduced to 60,000 and now 30,000.
On his part, Osei Assibey Antwi said he travelled to the zoo to assess the extent of damage at the facility and see how best to help prevent the reoccurrence of the episode in future.
According to him, the KMA cannot sit aloof and allow the Kumasi Zoo to encounter problems, noting that his visit was a fact-finding one.
“I can’t sit in the comfort of my office for a disaster to occur at the zoo before I take action. I am here today to help solve the problem once and for all.”
Mr Osei Assibey used the occasion to appeal to the contractor from Brazil working on the Kejetia Terminal to help renovate the zoo.
Meanwhile, Annette Gunn, an ex-zoo keeper at London Zoo in the UK, is currently in the country to help repaint the cages at the Kumasi Zoo for free.
She would spend two months in the country and transform the facility into a modern zoo to protect the animals.
Gunn is being accompanied by Mary Swift from Oxford Brookes University, who is studying chimpanzee behaviour as part of her Master’s degree.
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