After months on the run, two zebras caught close to US capital

Washington (AFP) – Two zebras that had been on the run for months in the countryside outside Washington, DC, have finally been caught, an official said Tuesday. 

The pair had escaped from an exotic animal farm in Maryland at the end of August and eluded numerous attempts to capture them, their escapade enthralling local residents and media.

But after repeatedly thwarting the authorities, the quadrupeds have been snagged, said Richard Bell of the US Department of Agriculture, without providing any further details. 

Prince George’s County, where the pair had been running free, announced several weeks ago that it planned to use “food and other zebras” to try to lure the striped fugitives back to the exotic animal farm. 

The affair had been documented on social media by bemused residents, but the saga took a sad turn when a third zebra that had escaped with the others died after being caught in an illegal snare.

Their owner, Jerry Holly, owns a large farm with a herd of around 30 zebras. He is facing charges of cruelty to animals after yet another zebra was found dead on his property in October, local media said. 

The possession of exotic animals, a phenomenon highlighted in the hit Netflix series “Tiger King,” is allowed in some US states.