100 animals escape south China zoo after floods

At least 100 animals escaped from a zoo in southern China's Guangxi region after floods damaged their enclosures, local authorities said.

Guigang Zoo asked the public Wednesday for help finding the animals, including alpacas, miniature pigs and zebras. A list posted by a local Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau also named two North American raccoons, four porcupines and 30 peacocks among the missing animals.

The zoo warned that some escapees “may be frightened and potentially aggressive” and told people to keep a safe distance, not approach them and not try to catch them.

Typhoon Maysak has hit southern and central China this week, killing 39 people in Guangxi and forcing 130,000 people to evacuate.

In a separate flood-related incident, Wu Zhi, the head of a local village committee, told state-owned Red Star News that about 800 to 900 snakes escaped Monday after a breeding farm was washed away in Hengzhou city. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the city expanded antivenom stocks at the local hospital.