An elusive zebra who’s evaded capture in Middle Tennessee for more than a week has finally been captured.
The fugitive zebra — who had been nicknamed “Ed” by the social media users tracking his escapades — has been on the loose since May 31. Eight days later, the zebra was finally captured in a field in Christiana, south of Murfreesboro in Rutherford County.
A pet zebra runs loose in Rutherford County on May 31, 2024.
Earlier in the weekend, law enforcement officials were tracking the zebra with a drone. Those efforts paid off on June 8 — News Channel 5 reports that the zebra was hit with a tranquilizer dart, then strapped in and airlifted via helicopter to be returned to captivity and seen by a veterinarian.
An escaped pet zebra, who’s been on the loose in Rutherford County for more than a week, was finally captured June 8, 2025, in Christiana. Here, a neighbor spotted the animal being airlifted by helicopter.
It’s been a busy week since the zebra escaped from the home of a Rutherford County couple the night of May 31. Ed’s runaway journey has taken him everywhere from neighborhood streets to a parkway near Interstate 24, about 35 miles south of downtown Nashville.
That spawned plenty of memes, jokes and amusement overall as Tennesseans pored over videos of the zebra plodding through suburban cul-de-sacs and galloping along country highways. Now, there’s one more rare sight to add to the list — of the zebra soaring through the air, tethered to the helicopter, with just its head poking out of the bag used to execute the airlift.
Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@tennessean.com.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Escaped zebra captured in Rutherford County after more than a week on the loose