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A man in Ohio was seriously injured over the weekend after he was attacked by his pet zebra.
According to an incident report, deputies with the Pickaway County Sheriff's Office were called to a fenced-in field in Circleville around 5:30 p.m. Sunday (March 12) after receiving reports that a man's arm had been dismembered by zebra, per NBC 4. Deputies claim the zebra bit the man's arm off, arriving on scene to find the man on the ground covering his right arm with his sleeve. The zebra reportedly was owned by the man, whose name was not released.
While officers attempted to help the man, who was being placed in an ambulance, the zebra was reportedly aggressive, at one point even charging at a deputy's cruiser. According to one deputy, the zebra was aggressive "due to being protective of about five or six female zebras that were in the field."
They tried to scare the animal away by yelling and using air horns but it continued to exhibit hostile behavior. The man's family told deputies not to turn their backs to the zebra and gave them permission to use lethal force if needed. A deputy ended up fatally shooting the animal due to its continued aggression.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital for his injures, and as of noon Monday (March 13), his condition remains unknown.
This isn't the only recent story involving an exotic pet causing havoc in Ohio. Last week, authorities rescued a serval cat from a Cincinnati neighborhood after receiving reports that it was in a tree. The serval, which is not a legal pet in the state of Ohio, was also determined to have been exposed to cocaine and was transferred to the Cincinnati Zoo.