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.
Neighbor describes the moment zebra was captured
Mark Kruckenberg lives in the Christiana subdivision where the zebra has been repeatedly spotted throughout the past week. Kruckenberg told The Tennessean he saw the airlift unfold in real time earlier in the morning on June 8.
“Me and my neighbor were outside and he ran across the field — and there was a helicopter chasing him,” Kruckenberg told The Tennessean.
That chase was playing out in the field behind their homes. Kruckenberg described the pursuers attempting to shoot the zebra with a tranquilizer dart, then seeing a hook hang down to grab the animal.
Before that moment, Kruckenberg said there was a heavy law enforcement presence in the area — both in the neighborhood and along the nearby highway — to keep the zebra contained.
Kruckenberg said the neighborhood has not been short on entertainment this week, as neighbors have been able to follow the zebra’s journey through a “party line” of cameras owned by subdivision residents. But though this saga’s drawn to a close, Kruckenberg did offer a prediction for the next unusual animal that may find itself wandering through the streets of Christiana.
“(It’ll) probably be a giraffe next,” Kruckenberg said.
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
