These Elusive Runaway Zebras Decided It Was Time To Go Home

After an expansive and lengthy search, the last two zebras that had escaped from a Maryland farm in August have been found and returned to their herd.

Three zebras had escaped from the Maryland farm, where approximately 40 live. The fugitive zebras roamed the Washington, D.C., suburbs, eluding authorities for months. County officials used food and fencing to slowly lure the animals back home.

One escapee zebra died after being caught in a snare trap and another was found dead at the farm in October, leading to animal cruelty charges against Jerry Holly, the zebras’ owner.

Holly’s attorney claimed that the zebras were well cared for and healthy. Holly said that he “looks forward to being able to show in court that there is no merit whatsoever to any of the charges pending against him.

Sightings of the animals created attention in the surrounding areas as locals hoped to get a glimpse of the creatures. “There’s a buzz. A lot of people are talking about it,” Rodney Taylor, the chief of the Prince George’s County Animal Services Division told said in September.