The Korea Herald

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Video reveals escaped zebra in Seoul lost parents

By Choi Jeong-yoon

Published : March 24, 2023 - 13:20

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(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

A zebra that escaped from a Seoul zoo Thursday had begun acting out earlier this year after its parents died, a video revealed.

Two-year-old Sero was captured alive after having roamed around a Seoul residential neighborhood for roughly three hours, and was seen galloping through busy traffic and sniffing the garbage bags in the area. Sero reportedly broke free from Seoul Children's Grand Park's zoo by damaging a wooden deck installed around its pen.

Early this year, Sero had become agitated and rebellious after its parents died, according to a YouTube video uploaded in January by Seoul Facilities Corp., which runs the zoo. Sero was raised by loving parents and had been very close with its family, a zoo official said in the video. After its parents' passing, Sero had refused to go back into its barn and had fought with a neighboring kangaroo.

Images show a 2-year-old zebra being rebellious, refusing to go back to its barn, fighting with a kangaroo in order. (Seoul Facilities Corporation YouTube captured image) Images show a 2-year-old zebra being rebellious, refusing to go back to its barn, fighting with a kangaroo in order. (Seoul Facilities Corporation YouTube captured image)

The video also showed Sero being aggressive to zookeepers and the officials trying to calm it down with toys and snacks.

On Thursday, the zebra was captured after being cornered and tranquilized by the rescue team. It was loaded onto a truck and brought back to the zoo it escaped from.

A zoo representative said the park would do its best to prevent future escapes by thoroughly investigating the incident. The veterinarians and zookeepers would take measures to ensure the zebra's health going forward, the representative added.

Neither the animal nor any of the people were reported injured, and there was no property damage, the zoo official said.