Kyiv, March 8 : Amid Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, about 2 million people have fled the country but the animals in Kyiv Zoo have been the hapless victims waiting to be rescued. The Kyiv zoo has thousands of animals including country’s only gorilla. According to reports, loud explosions were heard from the zoo as well. “Animals are frightened by the loud sounds of explosions, but our veterinarians are constantly monitoring their condition,” the zoo said in a statement on its website. About 50 people are essentially living at the zoo to care for the animals, Scripps national quoted the zoo as stating. To minimise the stress on the animals, the zoo authorities have moved them to indoor closures and even underground “galleries”. According to New York Post, the zookeepers gave elephants and other animals sedatives to calm them down during the explosions and gunfire. Last week, some of the zoo’s animals, including six lions, two caracals and an African wild dog, were accepted by Poland’s Poznan zoo. However, about 4,000 animals — elephants, camels and gorilla — remain stuck at the Kyiv Zoo, which has just enough food to feed them for 10 more days, according to a report by Independent. The Zoo said on Facebook, “Zoo staff-zookeepers, veterinarians, engineers and more — are on site 24/7. All animals are fed and well cared for. There is light, heat and water.” According to Poznań Zoo director Ewa Zgrabczyńska, “Getting out of a country under attack is not easy, as hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine have already found out. With animals, it is even more difficult.” The Kyiv Zoo will be celebrating its 112th anniversary on March 21. RNJ