Runaway pet Zebra who went viral during Escape finally… Captured in Tennessee
The wayward journey of a runaway pet zebra named Ed has come to a dramatic close. Tennessee police nabbed the zebra on Sunday, just over a week after he had first escaped his owners’ confines.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office detailed Ed’s capture on its Facebook page, complete with a video of the zebra being airlifted to a waiting jail cell (animal trailer). Ed and his bid for freedom stirred the hearts of people online but also caused real-life drama, at one point shutting down part of a local interstate.
“Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is happy to report Tango 82 aviation crews located Zebra Ed and returned him to his owner Sunday,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The great zebra escape occurred on May 30, just a day after Ed arrived in the community of Christiana in central Tennessee. According to Patrol Lt. Kenneth Barrett, Ed wreaked “havoc” during his first day of freedom.
The zebra ran through traffic on both sides of Interstate 24 near Joe B. Jackson Parkway in Rutherford County, which led to its temporary closure. He then scampered into some nearby wooded areas and disappeared from public view for several days.
Ed reemerged on Thursday, though his owners soon fretted that the public’s attempts to catch a glimpse of him would scare him away for good.
Online, he became the stuff of legend, with people creating memes of him visiting typical Tennessee locations, such as Waffle House, while one local resident even baked a cake in his honor.
The Sheriff’s Office enlisted the help of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, along with a local veterinarian, to bring him in. By Sunday morning, Ed was found in a pasture and finally wrangled.
Wild or exotic animal escapes do occasionally happen in the U.S.
‘The zebra’s owner reported the presence of people and cameras scaring the zebra and potentially harming the efforts to secure the zebra,’ the post continued.
‘Please avoid the area to allow the safe recovery of the zebra.’
He was eventually found on Sunday when aviation crews tracked down the animal in a pasture near the Christiana community, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
‘We don’t want to scare the zebra,’ White said. ‘We need time to get him to calm down.’
‘The Sheriff’s Office requested help from a veterinarian to respond to rescue the zebra.’
It’s unclear why officials had to resort to the airlift method to rescue the lost zebra.
