Ed the runaway Zebra found safe after a week of exploring

June 9th, 2025

From Local 3 News: UPDATE: Ed the zebra has officially been captured as of this morning, the owners confirmed to NBC affiliate WSMV4.

A team from Texas, Tango 82, helped capture Ed within an hour after finding him near the Buchanan Estates subdivision near Interstate 24.

The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency established command, with officers standing by to ensure nearby residents' safety.

Ed, previously named "Zeke" by his owners, was airlifted and flown by helicopter to a waiting animal shelter.

The owners told WSMV4 that their pet is safe and 100% healthy.

Ed, owned by Taylor and Laura Ford, was brought to Rutherford County on Friday, May 30.
“This has been a long, stressful week, and I am so happy that it ended the way it did and no one got hurt,” Laura said.

Throughout the week, the zebra was spotted in several areas, including down I-24, causing significant traffic delays.

PREVIOUS STORY: A pet zebra, now on the run for six days, was spotted in Christiana early Friday morning. The zebra was reported to have arrived in Middle Tennessee one week ago from a breeding facility in Texas.

The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office posted a drone video captured by deputies in a field. Deputies are now tracking the zebra with the drone.

"We don't want to scare the zebra," says Sheriff's Cpl. Sean White, asking people to avoid the area. "We need to get him to calm down."

The Sheriff's Office shared that the zebra's owner has been notified, and that a veterinarian's help has been requested to rescue the zebra.

PREVIOUS STORY: New video has surfaced of a pet zebra that escaped from its owner in Rutherford County over the weekend.

NBC's affiliate in Nashville reports, the animal was seen running and stumbling onto the road in the rural community of Christiana in Rutherford County.

It was also seen trotting through a neighborhood in footage from home surveillance and the animal forced the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office to shut down part of I-24 over the weekend.

A zebra is allowed as a pet in the state of Tennessee. It is considered a class III species regulated by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

However, the Library of Congress notes that zebras cannot be domesticated "and that they are unpredictable and are known to attack people”.

The zebra's owner said that he got the pet from a breeder in Texas on Friday and lost it on Saturday.

"He is most likely in an area that does not get a whole lot of attention or eyes in the area where he can hide very well,” said Branson Wells, Volunteer Drone Services. “Getting in maybe some cowboys and possibly rope this zebra here, but that would be completely up to the owners at that point in trying to figure out the best way possible, and safest way possible, to bring him back home.”

The owner said he thinks his cattle may have stomped the fence or a neighbor messed with it.

If you see the zebra, please call the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office at 615-898-7770 to report its location.

PREVIOUS STORY: The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office is continuing the search for a loose zebra into Sunday.

The zebra, which is confirmed to be someone's pet, was obtained Friday night by owners. On Saturday, the animal was seen running through traffic on Interstate 24 near Joe B. Jackson Parkway.

After roaming through both lanes of the interstate, the zebra escaped from sight again, into a nearby wooded area. The sheriff's office writes that it ran somewhere between Joe B. Jackson Parkway and the Epps Mill Road exit and could not be relocated.

Anyone who spots the zebra is asked to call the sheriff's office at 615-898-7770 to report its location.

PREVIOUS STORY: A zebra is on the loose in Rutherford County near Nashville on Interstate 24 near Joe B. Jackson Parkway. The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office says the exotic animal is someone's pet.

All lanes are now open after the zebra disappeared into the woods, but were closed as the animal was running through traffic on both sides of the highway.