Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: A US man remained hospitalized Tuesday after he was attacked and severely hurt by his own aggressive zebra, which was shot dead by police, officers in Ohio state said.
First reports from the sheriff’s office in Pickaway County, Ohio say 72-year-old Ronald Clifton’s arm was dismembered and that one officer hurriedly applied a tourniquet while other police responders fended off the animal.
Police Deputy Michael Oberley said that upon reaching the scene of Sunday’s incident, a large male zebra charged his driver-side door and was “acting very hostile”.
Oberley stated that Clifton appeared to have a hemorrhage on his right arm just below the elbow.
While Oberley attended to the victim, the zebra returned and threatened the Clifton family and other police.
A police officer’s body camera captured video footage that showed a man chasing the zebra with a stick. After that attempt failed and another officer tried in vain to scare the animal away, the officer shot the aggressive zebra in the head.
Zebra believed to be protecting female zebras
The exact injury to Clifton was not identified. A deputy, Nathan Welch, wrote in his report that the victim’s arm had been “bit off by the zebra,” a police spokesperson told AFP they believed that the arm was broken.
An Ohio healthcare spokeswoman stated that Clifton “is in fair condition” at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.
Clifton’s kin is the apparent owners of the animal on their property in Circleville, south of Ohio state’s capital Columbus.
Police said the zebra may have been trying to protect the 5 or 6 female zebras that were seen in the property’s grounds during the incident.
As per Ohio law, zebras are not classified as dangerous wild animals and are legal to own in the state, reported a local NBC affiliate.
