Keeping an eye on Atlanta's animal scene
March 12th, 2010 — Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, atlanta, euthanasia, zebras
The circus zebra that broke through its enclosure last month and stopped traffic in downtown Atlanta is dead.
A statement put out by Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey says veterinarians were unable to repair the animal’s hooves, which she injured while running around the city, despite “numerous medical treatments.”
Spokeswoman Crystal Drake told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution it “wouldn’t have been humane to keep it alive.”
March 4th, 2010 — Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, tigers
www.flickr.com/photos/crowolf/3787256337/
PETA claims that a tiger was brutally whipped by circus employees when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was in town last month, but the circus owner says the activist group has made up the accusation to get publicity.
The animal rights group has offered up to $5,000 for information about the alleged beating on February 18. The organization says a whistleblower reported “Ringling trainers repeatedly and violently whipped the tiger until the animal collapsed on the floor and lost control of his bowels.”
The circus — yes, the same one from which a zebra escaped — denies that any animals were abused and told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that PETA made up the allegations.
“I really believe this is just an activist tactic,” said Crystal Drake, regional public relations manager for Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus. “Don’t make up things about abuse that is not happening.”
February 20th, 2010 — Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, zebras
The zebra that ran away from the circus on Thursday was taken to UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine because her hooves were bloody from running along the pavement, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
A spokeswoman for the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus told the newspaper several vets examined Lima on Thursday, and she was taken to UGA on Friday for a full, comprehensive exam.
Meanwhile, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have asked for an investigation into Lima’s care and asked that the U.S. Department of Agriculture make the circus take the zebras off the road.
From Yahoo Buzz!:
Police in hot pursuit in cruisers and bicycles finally stopped his tourist trip short on Interstate 75. Aside from some cuts on his hooves, Lima was declared fit, although now PETA—never a circus fan to begin with—wants the USDA to investigate the “chronic problems with zebras escaping.”
The animal rights group might have a point. Lima has had a habit of taking a runner: He and two other geldings took a brief gambol in Colorado Springs in 2007. A few months later, he and his same pals skipped out of Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena in March 2008 for a quickie downtown hussle. Lima’s solo break seems to be his longest yet: Sometimes you just have to go it alone.
February 18th, 2010 — Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, zebras
Breaking News!
A zebra escaped from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus this afternoon and ran around downtown Atlanta for several minutes until police caught him on the Interstate 75/85 connector.
At about 5:30 p.m., WSBTV showed trainers loading the agitated zebra onto a horse trailer to take the animal back to the circus at Philips Arena. WSBTV has more photos.
According to the AJC, the zebra was spotted “in the parking lot near the Sam Nunn Federal Building, near Centennial Olympic Park, CNN and on the Downtown Connector. The animal was finally captured on the interstate near the Grady Curve. According to witnesses he was galloping between lanes of traffic on the Downtown Connector before his capture.”
Daniel Nance told the AJC he saw the zebra galloping along Alabama Street near MARTA’s Five Points station.
“All of a sudden a freaking zebra comes running down the street like a car. Five or six police cars were in hot pursuit. And a bunch of officers on foot. But then I got scared, thinking … what else is loose?” said a laughing Nance.
The wayward zebra has caused more backups than usual for the evening commute.
Diana Keough wrote on Twitter:
I’m stuck in traffic because of an escaped zebra. I’m fairly certain I’ve never typed that bf.
Shanod Johnson had bigger problems:
I CANT BELIEVE THIS ZEBRA RAN INTO MY CAR DOWNTOWN. WHO GONA PAY FOR THIS DENT.
and later:
AH MAN DAM I CLAIMING THIS (expletive) AS A HIT AND RUN
Apparently, this is not the first zebra gone loose in Atlanta. In April 2008, a young zebra was found stranded and injured on I-75 in Butts County, the AJC said. The same month, pranksters at Emory University herded a stolen zebra into a classroom building.