Residents in Maryland were forced to question whether or not they were on the island of Madagascar after five zebras escaped from a private farm. Since their escape, they have been seen galloping across the town.
The Chief of Prince County Animal Services Division, Rodney Taylor, said that three of the animals were spotted in a wooded area of Upper Marlboro, located just 20 miles from Washington D.C. on Aug. 31., NBC News reported.
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Rodney said that this is not something commonly seen in the county.
"Zebras running loose in Prince George's County is something we've never seen, that's for sure," he said. "There's a buzz. A lot of people are talking about it."
As of Friday, the animals have been traveling back and forth between the woods of two farms within Prince George's County.
The exotic striped beasts were initially living on a 300-acre farm owned by Jerry Holly, NBC News reported. The U.S. Department of Agriculture licenses Holly to keep the 39 zebras. However, shortly after they arrived at his farm, they escaped.
As of now, it is not known how the animals got out, but Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton doesn't want to be blamed, even though she did state she was against fencing in the capital.
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Norton was not talking about the same fencing but didn't miss the opportunity to joke about the coincidence on Twitter.
Animal control has reportedly set up feeding stations to coax the zebras back to the farm they live on, but many have taken to social media sharing footage of the creatures. One video shows one of the animals walking on train tracks in a homeowner's backyard.
Holly has reportedly set up cameras on trees to see where the zebras are congregating, Taylor said to NBC. Then, he plans to slowly corral them so they do not get spooked and so they can be returned to the farm safely.
