A TORRENT of softball-sized hail has killed four animals and injured 14 people at a Colorado zoo.

One visitor’s video shows hail plunging into the water at a bear enclosure, churning the water as bears pelted with ice scramble at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. Other video shows hail shredding leaves and branches.

Five injured people were transported to a hospital, and nine were treated at the scene, the Colorado Springs Fire Department said. About 3400 guests were at the zoo, though it is unclear how many were there when the hail roared into the area.

The zoo helped coordinate evacuation to Cheyenne Mountain High School, the zoo said in a statement. It estimated that 400 cars in its parking lot were severely damaged.

Motswari, a 13-year-old Cape vulture named Motswari , was killed in the storm along Daisy, a 4-year-old Muscovy duck named Daisy.

A peacock named Snoop also died of hail injuries and a meerkat pup has not been found is assumed dead.

Vets were due to visit the zoo on Friday to consult on Twinkie, a Rocky Mountain goat with an injured eye.

All other injured animals are either improving or stable, the zoo said in a statement.

Cape vultures, also known as Cape Griffon vultures, are endangered scavengers native to southern Africa. Power line collisions and farmers poisoning animal carcasses to kill predators have largely eradicated the population. Cape vulture numbers have declined as much as 90 percent in three generations, vulture conservation group VulPro said last year.

About 4200 breeding pairs are left globally, said Kerri Wolter, the chief executive and founder of the South Africa-based group. There are fewer than 20 in the United States, and conservationists focus on breeding in an effort to release more into the wild, Wolter told The Washington Post on Tuesday.

Motswari was in a group of vultures Wolter helped gather about 12 years ago. Motswari had collided with a power line and could not fly. But the vulture was an icon for awareness and fundraising.

"It’s a massive loss," Wolter said.

More than 101 damaged cars remain in the zoo carpark.

The zoo has been closed since the hailstorm it was expected to reopen on Saturday.