Police officers and the public in Washington state came together Sunday to eliminate a rare road hazard: runaway zebras.
But although they managed to corner three of them after they were released near North Bend, on the eastern outskirts of Seattle, one is still on the run.
Trooper Rick Johnson, public information officer for Washington State Patrol District 2 in King County, said four zebras got loose on Interstate 90 near the North Bend exit.
He posted photos of the animals while three of them were still roaming free, before soldiers and the public gathered to ensure their capture. “This is the first time for me and everyone [State Patrol] soldiers involved,” he wrote. “Crazy!”
He said the animals escaped while their owner stopped to secure the trailer. Privately owned animals were being taken to Montana.
South Fork regular Jon-Erick Anes told NBC affiliate KING of Seattle that he thought the zebras were part of an elaborate prank.
“And then I saw some cars trying to get into the neighborhoods to surround them,” he said. “They started laying in the grass in someone’s yard across the street,” Anes said.
Alex Campo, who works at a restaurant near I-90 and who, along with brunch customers, saw the animals running past, told KING that Sunday would be known as “the day the zebras came to North Bend.” .
A local resident who helped herd one of the zebras into someone’s yard posted a video on Facebook and wrote: “Now I can add the zebra wrangler to my resume.”
Another video posted to Instagram showed all four zebras stopping traffic in North Bend as perplexed drivers looked on.
The King County Sheriff’s Office was called at 12:52 p.m. and it wasn’t until 2:36 p.m. that three of them were captured, ABC affiliate KOMO from Seattle reported.
WSP said the community came together to help contain the loose animals.
The bizarre rescue effort involved a rodeo clown, who happened to be passing by, Whitney Blomquist told KOMO.
“They had a rodeo clown who was on his way, I think to a rodeo, and they were using him to help out in the corral,” Blomquist said. “We have zebras on the loose, we have a rodeo clown. I’m like, ‘Cool, we’ve officially turned into a zoo here.'”
King County Animal Control asked anyone who saw the missing zebra to report it.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
