One zebra was still on the loose Tuesday after a group of four escaped from a trailer heading to Montana eastbound on Interstate 90. The others were recaptured with the help of a former rodeo bullfighter.
The zebras bolted Sunday when the driver exited their vehicle to secure the trailer, Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson said in a post on X.
The driver and owner of the zebras, Kristine Keltgen, recently bought the four zebras and was taking them to a petting zoo she operates in Anaconda, Montana. She noticed a floor mat in the trailer dragging, but the zebras ran free as soon as she opened the trailer door.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘Keep them away from the interstate.’ Then my next thought was, ‘I need help,’” Ms. Keltgen told the Seattle Times.
The escaped animals included a stallion, two mares and a filly. The two mares and the filly were recovered Sunday and were taken to Montana on Monday, according to the Seattle Times.
Among those who helped bring the three zebras in were a former rodeo bullfighter, David Danton, and his wife Julie.
The pair stopped as they were driving home to help corral the zebras. They helped to make impromptu gates out of rope, metal panes and a garden hose, which guided the zebras into a pen on a nearby farm. From there, more metal was used to make a corridor to a large trailer for the zebras to trot through.
“It worked out as well as it possibly could have. It’s just about being quiet, working them gentle and not getting excited,” Mr. Danton told The New York Times, adding that “nobody trains you for wrangling zebras.”
The stallion remains free, according to a Facebook post from the Regional Animal Services of King County.
“This is the first time anyone can remember that we’ve ever been called out on a zebra escape. And hopefully it’ll be the last one,” RASKC spokesperson Cameron Satterfield told KING-TV.
The missing stallion was seen Monday afternoon, but got spooked and bolted before it could be wrangled.
“He hasn’t gone far. He’s not scared. He’s just kind of lookin’ and wondering where his friends are at this point,” animal control volunteer Dallas Clark told KING-TV.