An unnamed man was hospitalized after his pet zebra bit his arm off. Some reports claimed he lost his arm, but it has since been confirmed it was able to be reattached. The incident took place in Circleville, Ohio, about 20 miles south of Columbus.
Around 5:30pm on March 12th, the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the man lying on the ground in a fenced-in field. While they were on the scene attempting to help the injured man, his pet zebra continued acting erratically and aggressively. The animal reportedly charged a deputy’s cruiser that was positioned between the man and his pet to prevent further attacks.
The officers below air horns and yelled at the zebra to try and scare it away. But it reportedly continued to charge at the deputies, fire crews, and members of the victim’s family. It is possible that the animal was behaving this way to protect female zebras that were in the same field. This aggressive behavior continued until police felt that fatally shooting the zebra was the only option.
The injured man was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. Which were serious but, not considered life-threatening.
Under Ohio, law Zebras are not considered exotic animals, which are required to be registered with the state’s Department of Agriculture. Meaning, the man legally owned the zebra(s) [it’s unclear as to whether the aforementioned female zebras were his too] without any kind of registration.
