The floods that have plunged New York into state of emergency They have also had an unexpected consequence at the Central Park Zoo. There, a sea ​​lion female, known as Sally, He briefly escaped this Friday by swimming out of their pool due to the heavy rains that are ravaging the city and causing overflows.

The workers followed Sally’s movements as she explored the area around the enclosure before joining the zoo’s two other sea lions in the pool, according to one of the workers who supervises this enclosure, in statements reported by ‘The New York Times‘.

This same worker explained that at 3:00 p.m. (local time) the water had already gone down and everyone the animals were in their enclosures. During the rains no staff member has been in danger and the city’s four zoos have been closed to focus on keeping animals safe.

For her part, a worker from an office overlooking the zoo who witnessed the scene explained the wandering sea lion It has been an unusual image. “When we got to our office, everything was pretty flooded,” she said, to which she added that “we saw it Explore around the grounds and then re-enter“.

Given the videos of the surreal scene circulating on social networks, the Central Park Police have also clarified that “all sea lions and animals are accounted for and safe“.

By Friday afternoon they had fallen almost 8 inches of rain at JFK airportaccording to the National Weather Service, making this day the wettest since records began there in 1948. The service has warned that the rain would continue for hours and the threat of continued flooding on highways, streets and underpasses.