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An escaped pet zebra has been reunited with its owner after an eight-day search across a Tennessee county.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Facebook post on Sunday that “celebrity Zebra Ed” had been “rescued safely.”
“Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is happy to report Tango 82 aviation crews located Zebra Ed and returned him to his owner Sunday,” officials wrote in the post.
The runaway zebra was found near Interstate 24 “in a pasture near the Buchanan Estates subdivision,” the sheriff’s office said.
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Video of the rescue shows “Zebra Ed” being lifted high in the air by a helicopter out of a wooded area.
“Zebra Ed” originally arrived in Christiana on May 30, according to officials, and he was reported missing one day later by his owner.
The sheriff’s office didn’t say how or where the owners got the zebra, or where it was being housed at the time of its escape.
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Deputies said he escaped into a wooded area off Interstate 24, where he was spotted by bystanders “wreaking havoc,” between Joe B. Jackson Parkway and the Epps Mill Road exits.
Deputy Ryan Keach located the zebra near the interstate and shut down one lane of traffic for travelers’ safety on May 31, the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital.
“After the zebra crossed the interstate, deputies closed both the eastbound lanes toward Chattanooga and the westbound lanes toward Nashville,” the agency said.
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“Zebra Ed” was not spotted again for several days following the May 31 sighting, officials said.
Prior to Sunday’s rescue operation, Ed was spotted again on Friday, June 6, in a field near Ridgewood Drive in Christiana. The sheriff’s office announced that deputies saw him through a drone camera and were working with a veterinarian to safely rescue the animal.
“We don’t want to scare the zebra,” RCSO Cpl. Sean White said. “We need time to get him to calm down.”
The sheriff’s office did not disclose what is next for “Zebra Ed.”
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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