The zebras made a run for it.
Spotting a door ajar, three striped members of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus broke out yesterday from their temporary home in Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena.
But they didn't get far. Evidently bewildered by the bustle on Hopkins Place downtown, Mali, Giza and Lima -- geldings born in Missouri seven or eight years ago -- allowed themselves to be corralled by trainer Karin Houcke and two handlers within half a block of their exit point. No need for a lasso, since each animal wore a bridle. Still, it was a scary moment, said Carrie Coleman, a circus veterinary technician, because the animals were in traffic lanes, if only briefly, before returning to the sidewalk. Luckily, no vehicles were passing at the time, she said.
"They may have thought they were headed home," said Coleman, who reported that the zebras were uninjured and appeared none the worse for their short-lived foray into the unknown yesterday morning. Three other zebras had evidently decided not to follow their less disciplined pals into the street.
Last June, the same three escapees -- along with a fourth, Guinea -- took off during the circus's sojourn in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"They must have enjoyed the mountains," Coleman said of the animals, known as Grant's zebras, a species known for keen eyesight, a shy nature and swiftness. They normally weigh between 500 and 700 pounds.
In Colorado, too, the zebras were brought back within minutes. It's not clear when they hatched their latest escape plan.
nick.madigan@baltsun.com
