A vulture and an exotic duck were killed after a powerful storm pummeled a busy Colorado zoo with large hail stones, injuring 14 people, on Monday.
Softball-sized hail hit Colorado Springs, but the injuries were worse at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where about 3,400 visitors needed to be evacuated.
Daisy, a four-year-old muscovy duck and, and a 13-year-old cape vulture called Mostwari, died.
Five people were taken to the hospital with traumatic injuries after the short but intense afternoon storm passed over the zoo, according to the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
A vulture and an exotic duck were killed after a powerful storm pummeled a busy Colorado zoo with large hail stones on Monday

Around 400 vehicles in the parking lot of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo were damaged, the zoo said
Another nine were treated at the scene, but additional details about the victims and their injuries have not been released.
Jenny Koch, the zoo’s marketing director, confirmed a vulture and a duck were killed by the hail.
A second vulture was also injured by hail and was being cared for in a veterinary hospital.
‘It was hail the size I’ve never seen before,’ she told The Post. ‘Basically chunks of ice … It’s frightening.’
About 3,400 people who were visiting the zoo were evacuated to a nearby high school, and around 400 vehicles in the parking lot were damaged, the zoo said on Facebook.

Hail the size of baseballs lie on the ground near The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs

Five people were taken to the hospital with traumatic injuries after the short but intense storm
Sherri Wullschleger said the hail smashed the front window of her car, knocked off the side mirrors and destroyed the sunroof.
She was inside a building with a skylight during the storm and said hail storms broke through the glass and into animal enclosures. ‘It was very scary,’ she told CNN.
The zoo will be closed on Tuesday so employees can take care of injured animals and repair broken windows and skylights.
None of the children attending zoo camp were injured.

Hail storms smashed the rear window of a vehicle in the parking lot of the Colorado zoo

Another car in the zoo’s parking lot was left with numerous cracks where the hail had pummeled the vehicle
The storm knocked out power to nearly 2,000 customers in the area, and heavy rain and debris forced the closure of U.S. Highway 24 west of Manitou Springs, The Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
The Broadmoor Hotel and resort also was pounded by hail, and staff members are assessing the damage.
‘It was a significant storm,’ said Barry Brown, the hotel’s vice president of sales and marketing.
Forecasters warned that runoff from the rain could cause flooding of small creeks, roads, underpasses and low-lying areas as more storms develop along the Front Range on Monday night.

Brandon Sneide, left, and his family were caught in the gift shop at the zoo during the storn