Who let a pack of zebras run free? DC congresswoman says ‘my alibi is solid’
As a pack of freed zebras roam the Washington, D.C., suburbs, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton maintains she isn’t the one who let them loose.
The strikingly striped animals have been running free in the area for more than a week after officials said they escaped a private farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital, FOX 5 DC reported.
Norton, a Democrat who serves as the district’s delegate in the House of Representatives, addressed the animals’ escape on Friday, saying she was at home “enjoying quiet time” with family when the animals reportedly made a run for it. The denial was seemingly in response to a “charge” that she was somehow involved.
“My alibi is solid,” Norton said in a statement, “but given my career of fighting for statehood for the District, which includes years of explaining the importance of having consent of the governed, and given my recent opposition to fences, I can understand why the charge was made. I hope the owners find the zebras and that all involved live long, full lives.”
It’s unclear who made the accusation, however, leaving some people puzzled — and suspicious.
“Congresswoman norton was not even on my list of suspects of who released the six zebras, UNTIL NOW,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Eleanor Holmes and the Loose Zebras is a good band name,” another user commented.
Someone else joked that “the zebras forced (Norton’s) staff to write” a statement addressing their escape.
Officials in Prince George’s County have urged residents to steer clear of the animals if they spot one, WTOP reported. Veterinarian Linda Molesworth, who owns a zebra, said approaching one could be “very dangerous.”
“Some people think they are like horses, but they are not,” Molesworth told the station. “You cannot walk up and grab them. ...They’re very fast. They will wheel and kick and they will run you over if you’re in the way.”
Caretakers have tried luring the animals into an area with an enclosure made of corral fencing, WUSA9 reported, citing county animal control officials. They’ll continue building the fence panel by panel until the zebras are fully closed in.
Anyone with information on the zebras or their whereabouts is asked to call Prince George’s County Animal Control at 301-780-7200.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Who let a pack of zebras run free? DC congresswoman says ‘my alibi is solid’."