Noah’s Ark, the animal rehabilitation center in Locust Grove, Ga., had a homecoming celebration Friday afternoon for the most famous zebra around Georgia and Alabama.
Ever since Evidence, a baby zebra, was discovered by authorities off Interstate 75 on April 8, he has been receiving treatment at the J.T. Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. But this week, officials decided it was time for him to go home.
Since no one has claimed ownership of the exotic animal, his home from now on is Noah’s Ark.
“We just feel like it’s providential that he was found 10 miles from Noah’s Ark,” said Diane Smith, assistant to the center’s director. “And now we’re happy to have him home.”
The center has more than 1,000 exotic, domestic, livestock and wildlife animals on 250 acres, including 80 horses, but Evidence will be the first zebra.
“The director’s mom has been praying for a zebra for 10 years,” Smith said, with a laugh.
According to Dr. Hui-Chu Lin, the equine section chief at Auburn’s vet school, students and staff are pleased Evidence healed so well under their care, but were sad to see him leave.
“He’s kind of become part of the group here. We are used to seeing him every morning,” she said. “It’s going to be kind of difficult now, but it’s best for him to be where he can be outside.”
Evidence came to Auburn with a 10-inch long, 4-inch deep laceration across his stomach that required immediate surgery. Lin said he also suffered a lot of soft tissue damage, probably from falling off a trailer and then being hit by another vehicle.
“The laceration is healing very well, and his appetite is good,” she said. “He still has a ways to go, but we decided it was best for him to go and get used to his new home and the people at Noah’s Ark.”
Until a catheter is removed in another four to six weeks, Smith said Evidence will live in a stall, built especially for him so he can have 24-hour supervision. Then his home will be a new four-stall rehabilitation barn and he will be available for public viewing.
“His temperament is totally different from a horse,” she said. Evidence can be socialized since he is a baby, but Smith said, “he’s not going to be a petting zoo animal. That will never
happen.”
Even if only a limited number of students were able to get the hands-on experience of dealing with Evidence while at Auburn, Lin said just having him around was lesson enough.
“Everyone in the teaching hospital had a chance to look in on him and learn from this case,” she said.
The learning process is just beginning for everyone at Noah’s Ark. Smith said updates about Evidence will be posted at www.noahs-ark.org.
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