Lonely zebra escapes zoo, runs loose in the streets of Seoul

A three-year-old zebra named Sero escaped a Korean zoo on Thursday after a streak of rebellious behaviour following the death of his parents.

An escaped zebra gave officials in Korea the run-around for hours after breaking out of his enclosure and running amok in the busy metropolis of Seoul.

Sero, the three-year-old zebra, escaped the Seoul Children’s Grand Park zoo Thursday afternoon after a streak of rebellious behaviour following the death of his parents. The lonely equine’s big day in the city eventually came to an end when emergency workers cornered him in a residential area and tranquilized him.

Sero, whose name means “vertical” in Korean, referring to his stripes, was returned to the zoo in stable condition and was examined by veterinarians on Thursday evening, said Choi Ye-ra, a zoo official.

The young zebra escaped around 3 p.m. local time after reportedly breaking through some of the wooden fencing around his enclosure.

In the intervening hours, video footage taken shows Sero running free through eastern Seoul, weaving through cars and wandering down alleys, to the shock of residents.

One video posted on Twitter shows Sero cutting through multiple lanes of stopped cars before trotting down the open curb lane. The caption reads: “be safe zebra.”