A runaway pet zebra that was on the loose for more than a week in Tennessee was captured on Sunday, his owners and authorities said.
Ed the zebra, who became an internet sensation, was captured safely after being located in a pasture near a subdivision in the Christiana community in central Tennessee, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
“Ed was airlifted and flown by helicopter back to a waiting animal trailer,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Ed’s owner, Laura Ford, told CBS News that a team from Texas helped capture him and he is “safe and 100% healthy.”
“This has been a long, stressful week and I am so happy that it ended the way it did and no one got hurt,” she said.
Video posted by the sheriff’s office shows Ed wrapped in a net with his head sticking out as he is carried by the helicopter to the trailer.
Ed arrived in Christiana on May 30, the sheriff’s office said. His owner reported him missing the next day.
The zebra was spotted and filmed running along Interstate 24, forcing deputies to shut the roadway. But Ed escaped into a wooded area.
There were several sightings posted to social media. Ed was filmed trotting through a neighborhood.
The zebra quickly became the subject of internet memes. One fake posting showed Ed dining at a Waffle House, a southern staple. Others had him visiting other Tennessee cities or panhandling on the side of the road.
The pursuit of Ed came a month after a runway kangaroo shut down a section of Alabama interstate.
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