Injured zebra is found on highway

LOCUST GROVE, Ga. --- An animal rescue center called Noah's Ark is looking for donations to help cover the $5,000 cost of care for a baby zebra found injured on Interstate 75 south of Atlanta.

The rescuers believe the male, estimated to be 2 to 3 months old, fell from a truck and then was hit by another vehicle. They got the call Tuesday that it was eating grass along an I-75 exit.

A veterinarian said surgery was needed for a crushed pelvis, nerve damage and a severed urethra, which had to be rerouted.

"The police kept referring to him as evidence, so we decided to call him Evidence," said Diane Smith, the assistant to the director at Noah's Ark. "He's going to have a permanent home with us."

The center has more than 1,000 animals including lions, tigers and bison. It also is home to up to 24 children, many of them also abused and abandoned.

Evidence had surgery Wednesday, performed by vets from Auburn University. By Thursday he was walking and eating. D. Huichu Lin, the school's equine section chief, said that was a very good sign, but the 225-pound zebra still has a couple of weeks of recovery ahead.

She said Auburn vets don't see a lot of zebras, so "we treated him like a horse." She said the zebra also had soft tissue and muscle injuries.

"The laceration on his rear was about 10 inches across," Dr. Lin said.