Two bison who lived at ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park in Hershey were shot on Wednesday because they were drowning and could not be rescued as Tropical Storm Lee inundated Derry Twp., officials said.

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The staff put the zoo evacuation plan into effect and began to move animals in danger spots to other Hershey Entertainment & Resorts property, including the Giant Center, Hersheypark, Hersheypark Stadium and Hersheypark Arena.

ZooAmerica is home to more than 200 animals representing more than 60 North American species.

The flood waters rose very quickly in the area occupied by two bison, said Mindy Bianca, Hershey spokeswoman. The bison weigh about 2,000 pounds each and stand about six feet tall.

"They were drowning," Bianca said. "To treat them as humanely as possibly, we had a trained member of the zoo staff euthanize them. They were shot around 5 p.m. We didn’t do this lightly. This was a very tough day for us."