Wranglers, residents help corral 4th and final missing zebra

Wranglers and residents help corral 4th and final missing zebra in North Bend

A zebra that eluded capture while gallivanting through the foothills of western Washington for days was recaptured Friday.

NORTH BEND, Wash. - A zebra that eluded capture while gallivanting through the foothills of western Washington for days was recaptured Friday.

"It really was a community effort," said North Bend Mayor Mary Miller. "The group of wranglers weren’t from the community, but they just jumped in. They were professionals and they knew what to do and they worked as a team."

FOX 13 Seattle learned residents and animal control officers corralled the zebra named "Shug" in the community of Riverbend.

"The zebra seemed to be in good condition despite her nearly week-long adventure in the woods," said a spokesperson for the Regional Animal Services of King County.

Shug was one of four zebras that escaped as the animals were being transported from Washington to Montana last Sunday.

The driver had taken the Interstate 90 exit for North Bend in the Cascade Mountain foothills and pulled over to secure the trailer. That’s when the animals somehow got loose.

The incident shocked residents and drivers as they roamed into the rural neighborhood. Three were quickly captured after being corralled in a pasture. But the fourth, a mare who goes by Shug, jumped a fence and disappeared.

Shug’s adventure quickly captured public attention, spawning social media memes that placed the animal everywhere, from riding a ferry across Puget Sound to rounding the bases at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners.

"I think the animal’s stay in North Bend is going to go down in the history books," said Mayor Miller. "It might be the number one subject matter for the year."

As for Shug’s capture, former rodeo bullfighter and wrangler David Danton was able to help.

He previously helped round up one of the other zebras after their initial escape.

"It’s not every day you catch a zebra," Danton told FOX 13 last Sunday. "We just are doing what neighbors do."

Mayor Miller said she was on site during Shug's last few hours in North Bend.

"I helped where I could," she said. "We used fences and made the enclosure smaller and smaller. It was all very gentle and very relaxed. We weren’t dragging fencing. We weren’t making noise. We were heavy lifting and moving things around and she eventually just walked into the trailer."

Shug is currently being transported by David Danton to Montana where she will join the rest of the dazzle, or group, of zebras.