Two zebras which had been running loose since escaping from a Maryland farm about four months ago have been caught.
Prince George’s County Animal Services and the US Department of Agriculture were not involved in the capture but were told on Monday that the animals returned to their herd last week, The Washington Post reported.
In late August, the two zebras fled from an Upper Marlboro farm where officials have said about 40 zebras live.
Residents in the region shared sightings of the free-roaming pair on social media, and even Washington’s House of Representatives delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton chimed in on the escape.
The duo was originally a trio, but one got caught in an illegal snare trap on a neighbouring property and died soon after the breakout.
Stock Zebra Photo
Reuters
The county filed animal cruelty charges against owner Jerry Holly in October after another zebra was found dead inside the farm’s enclosure.
Holly is accused of inflicting “unnecessary suffering or pain on a zebra” and failing to provide “nutritious food in sufficient quantity” or give the herd “proper shelter”.
Lawyer Steven B Vinick emailed The Post on Tuesday saying his client “has been and is a respected businessman in Prince George’s County, and he looks forward to being able to show in court that there is no merit whatsoever to any of the charges pending against him”.
USDA inspectors said in a recent report that the zebras escaped “during the unloading process.”
The herd was moved to Maryland from Florida over the summer, according to the county’s animal services chief, Rodney Taylor.
Prince George’s officials worked with the animals’ caretakers for weeks, trying to lure the fugitives into a corral using food and other zebras.
A Twitter parody account for the zebras said Tuesday, “Well, Well, Well…they got us. We had an amazing time and it’s all about being outside.”
