Wayward Zebras Finally Find Their Way Back Home In Prince George's County

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A trio of zebras escaped a Prince George's County exotic animal farm in late August, and the remaining two striped bandits still on the lam have managed to find their way back home.

The Prince George’s County Animal Services Facility and Adoption Center has been notified that the two zebras roaming at large in Upper Marlboro and the surrounding areas in southern Prince George's County returned to the herd on their own.

After speaking with the zebra’s property owner and caretaker, the U.S. Department of Agriculture notified animal control Monday that the zebras had returned to the herd last week without being captured by the USDA or ASFAC.

The zebras' owner, Jerry Lee Holly, 76, faces three charges of animal cruelty. A third zebra originally on the loose was caught in a snare and died from its injuries mere feet from an enclosure where the herd of 36 zebras is kept.

Snare traps are illegal in Prince George's County and the animal's death is being investigated. Initially, it was reported that five zebras had escaped, but authorities later said only three originally escaped from the farm.

All charges lodged against Holly relate to the zebras at large.

Prosecutors say Holly did not provide proper care and sustenance to his zebras, according to charging documents. An investigator with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources said in charging documents that "the animal should have been seen or heard while it was dying from being caught in the snare if the caretaker had attended to the zebras in the fenced enclosure."

Prosecutors say the investigator believes the trapped zebra likely died from dehydration after trying to free itself from the trap. By the time the animal was discovered by Maryland Natural Resources police, the zebra's body was completely decomposed, WJZ reported, so a cause of death could not be determined.

Another zebra was found dead inside the enclosure and "had been deceased long enough that it had entered the rigor-mortis stage," prosecutors said. That death also is being investigated after the department of environment was notified by a news helicopter crew who saw what was believed to be a dead zebra in an enclosure. Animal control officers, who were scheduled to visit the property later that day, immediately inspected the property and located the dead zebra.

A report released by the United States Department of Agriculture shone a light on the poor living conditions at the exotic animal farm. An inspection revealed that the 36 zebras kept at the farm were being cared for by one person with no experience or adequate knowledge of the animals.