By Daily Mail Reporter


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Running free: An escaped zebra was spotted running through a residential area after making a bid for freedom from the Leesburg Animal Park


It could have been a scene straight from the movie Jumanji,
Zebras who had escaped from a petting zoo were found wandering in a small town after an employee reportedly left their cage open.

The two animals managed to get out of their pen at Leesburg Zoo in Virginia. They were later captured by the sheriff's office and hit with tranquiliser darts before being returned to their enclosure.

Police received several calls yesterday afternoon from alarmed residents reporting zebras on the loose in traffic. No one was injured by the escaped animals.


Call of the wild: A zebra gallops through a suburban estate in the small town of Leesburg, Virginia after escaping from a petting zoo

Free to roam: One of the two zebras which escaped from the Leesburg Animal Park, Virginia after an employee left their cage open


The owner of the Leesburg Animal Park said the zebras got loose after two workers, who are not directly employed by the park, left a gate open.

This is the second time animals have escaped from the zoo in Leesburg. Last year, a type of Africa cat, a serval, got out and was hit by a car but survived.

The zebras had a fortunate escape. Last month nearly 50 wild animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions - were shot by sheriff's deputies after the owner of an exotic-animal park in Ohio threw their cages open and committed suicide in what may have been one last act of spite against his neighbors and police.

Feeding time at the zoo: The zebras are one of the attractions at the Leesburg Animal Park in Virginia


Officers armed with high-powered rifles and shoot-to-kill orders fanned out through fields and woods to hunt down 56 animals that had been turned loose from the Muskingum County Animal Farm by owner Terry Thompson before he shot himself.

After an all-night hunt, 48 animals were killed. Six others - three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys - were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo. A wolf was later found dead.

Another monkey that was carrying the dangerous Herpes B virus, is believed to be dead after being eaten by one of the other animals.


Blood-shed: Sheriff's deputies shot 48 wild animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions - across the state's countryside




source:dailymail