Pet zebra wreaks 'havoc' on Tennessee interstate after escape
Dodging vehicles and narrowly missing being hit, a pet zebra ran into traffic along a busy greater Nashville interstate over the weekend, officials said.
As of June 2, the zebra remained missing, a Rutherford County dispatcher told USA TODAY.
The zebra broke loose on Saturday, May 31 "wreaking havoc" on Interstate 24 near Joe B. Jackson Parkway in Rutherford County, Sheriff's Office Lt. Kenneth Barrett reported.
The parkway about 35 miles south of downtown Nashville in the city of Murfreesboro, a booming town home to Middle Tennessee State University, the largest undergraduate university in The Volunteer State.
"Sheriff's deputies had to close the interstate because the zebra was running through traffic on both sides of the highway," Barrett said.
Officials later reopened the highway after the zebra disappeared into the woods.
The following day a patrol deputy snapped a photo of the zebra still on the loose.
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Where was the zebra in Murfreesboro last seen?
According to the sheriff's office, the zebra escaped into a wooded area off Interstate 24 between Joe B. Jackson Parkway and the Epps Mill Road exits Saturday afternoon.
The parkway is a busy throughfare with scores of businesses and other establishments lining it.
According to a press release from the sheriff's office, Cpl. Zach Campbell the zebra belonged to a couple who he interviewed the night it escaped.
The owners, law enforcement reported, "obtained the zebra Friday night." It escaped the following day.
It was not immediately known whether the zebra was injured, how it escaped or where it escaped from.
Is it legal to have a pet zebra in Tennessee?
While the Library of Congress says zebras' "unpredictable nature and tendency to attack preclude them from being good candidates for domestication," it is legal to own one in Tennessee, the Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network reported.
Along with llamas, camels, and giraffes, Tennessee categorizes zebras as Class III animals so they do not require special permits or paperwork to be kept as pets.
USA TODAY has reached out to the sheriff's office.
Anyone who spots the zebra is asked to not approach it and call the sheriff's office at 615-898-7770.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
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