Ed's week-long journey adds to this year's run of strange animal escapes. After jumping down a highway in Alabama in April and causing a two-car collision, a kangaroo was tranquillized and brought back. A young seal that was discovered in New Haven, Connecticut, in February tragically passed away a few days after being brought to Mystic Aquarium.
To the relief of local officials and the joy of social media users, Ed, a pet zebra who had been evading capture for a week in Tennessee, was finally apprehended on Sunday and miraculously transported to safety.
About 40 miles outside Nashville, in Christiana, Ed was discovered grazing in a meadow close to a residential area, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. A plethora of memes depicting him in weird settings, like eating at Waffle House or panhandling across Tennessee, were inspired by his remarkable escape, which captured the attention of the internet.
Officials called in an aviation team to rescue Ed safely. “Ed was airlifted and flown by helicopter back to a waiting animal trailer,” the sheriff’s office confirmed.
According to a department video, Ed was being transferred while gently dangling beneath a chopper while covered in a net with his head protruding.
On May 31, the zebra initially went missing. When deputies saw him running along Interstate 24, the highway was temporarily closed. Ed, however, escaped capture by hiding in the surrounding woods. He continued to avoid officials despite being spotted walking throughout Christiana's neighbourhoods in the days that followed.
Ed never left Christiana and is still on course to make a safe return home, despite the growing internet fan base's hope that he will go farther.
Ed's week-long journey adds to this year's run of strange animal escapes. After jumping down a highway in Alabama in April and causing a two-car collision, a kangaroo was tranquillized and brought back. A young seal that was discovered in New Haven, Connecticut, in February tragically passed away a few days after being brought to Mystic Aquarium.
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