(RNN) – Baseball-sized hail fell on Colorado Springs, CO, on Monday, wrecking cars and endangering animals at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
The area around the zoo appeared to be hit hardest, with smaller hail hitting the more central parts of the city.
Social media posts showed the hail violently falling on locations around the city, including the zoo, where a video posted by KKTV showed the hail splashing into the water of a bear enclosure as the bears ran for cover.
The zoo said on its Facebook page that two animals had died in the hailstorm, a duck named Daisy and a cape vulture named Motswari. It said 3,400 guests were evacuated and almost 400 cars were damaged.
Eight people were taken from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to the hospital with injuries sustained from hail, according to the Colorado Spring Fire Department: https://t.co/aulE39WGn6 pic.twitter.com/wwy2RAhA6S
— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) August 6, 2018
Rough day at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo pic.twitter.com/J5H35Oh7uZ
— Nick Purdie (@PurdieBirdie53) August 7, 2018
They’re visiting from Amarillo, TX and just got this mini van two weeks ago. Now they’re not sure how of if they’ll get it home after being pummeled by hail at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo pic.twitter.com/nNY71xPEXq
— Ashley Michels (@ReporterAshley) August 7, 2018
Monster hail at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs sends at least 8 people to local hospitals, kills 3 animals — 2 vultures and a duck — and forces the evacuation of 3,400 guests https://t.co/Dh477DMVPA by @kierannicholson
— Matt Sebastian (@mattsebastian) August 6, 2018
“The zoo experienced significant damage to our infrastructure,” it said in the post. “There is also an extensive amount of debris throughout zoo grounds.”
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