SEATTLE– A zebra that escaped from a trailer east of Seattle last weekend remained on the loose Friday, as authorities closed trails at a nature area in hopes of keeping people away and facilitate its capture.
The zebra was one of four zebras that escaped while being transported from Washington to Montana last Sunday. The driver had taken the Interstate 90 exit toward North Bend, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Seattle, to secure the trailer, when the zebras broke away, surprising residents and drivers as they galloped through a rural neighborhood. .
Three were quickly captured after being confined in a pasture. But the fourth – a mare named “Z” – jumped a fence and proved more elusive, spawning popular social media memes that placed the animal everywhere from crossing a ferry across Puget Sound to the base bypasses of T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners.
There have been several more realistic sightings, the most recent on Thursday, according to King County Regional Animal Services.
On Friday, King County officials closed trail access points along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail in the Boxley Creek Natural Area, where the zebra appears to frequent. People trying to go out to see the zebra could frighten it and make it harder to capture the animal, they said.
“We’re hoping that by closing the trail and getting people out of that area, maybe that will help us achieve a successful capture,” said Animal Services spokesman Cameron Satterfield.
The zebra was seen grazing and was spotted by residents’ surveillance cameras. There are dangers: Cameras have also recently captured cougars in the area.
On her Facebook page, King County Council member Sarah Perry urged people to keep their distance.
“She is in an area where there are feeding areas to coax her into a rescue, but every time a walker, bike or unleashed ‘search dog’ approaches her, it makes his rescue all the more difficult,” Perry wrote. THURSDAY. “She is in good hands and a rescue appears imminent, provided we work together to give them the opportunity to achieve our goal.”
ABC News
